Police arrest former civil servant for breaking into Government office

KOTA KINABALU: The police have nabbed an ex-civil servant hours after he broke into a Government office along Jalan UMS here and stole an iPhone 5.

City police chief Asst Comm M. Chandra said the 33-year-old suspect was arrested at a parking lot in Wisma Budaya at around 1pm on Wednesday (March 7), approximately four hours after he broke into the office.

"We seized a brown-coloured sling bag, two mobile phones, a wallet and a Sabah Federal Government Administration Complex identification card belonging to the suspect.

"We also recovered the iPhone and RM60 of stolen money. The mobile phone owner was contacted to identify his belongings. The suspect admitted to operating on his own without accomplices," he said.

ACP Chandra said police tracked down the suspect after a report was lodged at about 11.20am by a 59-year-old civil servant.

"He was at home when he received a call from his employee, informing him that a Government office had been broken into at 6.54am," he noted.

Checks by the police revealed that the suspect had seven previous criminal records from 2013 to 2017 for gambling, break-in and theft.

He was remanded to aid in investigations under Section 457 of the Penal Code for burglary.

ACP Chandra thanked the public for cooperating with the police, saying that this had led to the quick arrest of the suspect.

"The police will increase crime patrols at Government buildings to prevent similar occurrences in the future," he said.