IN SAFE HANDS AGAIN: The pistol, the cash and other belongings of Abit left untouched.
SIBU: The bag left his sight for only a very short while, but it was enough to create panic and a very tense situation lasting about an hour.
The central elements which prompted hordes of policemen, and personnel from Rela and the civil defence to swarm the express boat terminal here at about 11am yesterday was the fact that the stolen bag contained a loaded automatic pistol and RM190,000 in cash! They belonged to Hulu Rajang MP Datuk Billy Abit Joo who had gone to the terminal to catch a boat ride to Kapit.
After buying his boat ticket, he had decided to visit a handphone shop at the terminal for a short while as he still had some time left before departure.
But he made the mistake of leaving his bag on the floor unattended.
Fortunately, it was found within an hour by a member of the public who alerted the police.
The bag was recovered at around noon some blocks away in a dustbin at Lembangan Walkway near Tanahmas Hotel.
Money still intact when bag found
Police did not rule out the possibility that the thief might have had a shock to see the pistol in the bag and quickly threw the bag away.
The thief apparently also did not search the bag thoroughly because tucked deep inside was cash totalling RM190,000 tied with rubber bands in a yellow envelop.
“Probably, the thief was too scared to burrow deeper on seeing the pistol. He could have quickly thrown the whole bag away as the money was still intact when the bag was found,” said a police officer.
The one-hour search was tense for both Abit and the police for they feared the pistol might land in the hands of criminals.