NABBED: The teenager being led away to the police lockup following treatment at the hospital.
KUCHING: A teenage boy from Kampung Buntal in Santubong was apprehended by local residents on Wednesday night and handed over to the police in connection with a spate of break-ins at the village.
The 16-year-old suspect was caught red-handed breaking into a friend’s house by the villagers, who delivered a dose of street justice before calling the police.
It was later learned that two other accomplices waiting close by managed to escape on a motorcycle when the suspect was caught.
According to sources, the teenager and his accomplices are believed to have broken into the same house a day earlier, during which they stole a laptop, mobile phone and some cash, and had returned a second time hoping to steal more items.
The suspect later admitted to having disposed of the laptop for a mere RM80.
Police then brought the teen to the Sarawak General Hospital to treat bruises sustained during his beating at the hands of the villagers, before detaining him in the lockup pending further investigation.
In an unrelated case, a middle-aged accountant lodged a police report after his house at Jalan Manggis was broken into by thieves.
The incident happened around 8pm on Wednesday when the man, who was in his 50s, and his family arrived home to see two men throwing items from the upper floor of their house onto the ground at the rear.
Realising the family’s arrival, the thieves quickly ran out the house and climbed over the back fence before escaping in a car.
The accountant’s son attempted to chase after the pair but eventually lost sight of them.
A check of belongings inside the house revealed the theft of over RM1,000, about 200 Singapore dollars and other miscellaneous items.
Police are investigating.