KOTA TINGGI: A watchman was on a video call with his wife when he was suddenly grabbed from behind by a gang of men trying to steal underwater cables from an oil rig near Tanjung Langsat Port (TLP) in Pasir Gudang.
The quick-thinking wife who watched the phone screen go black called for help, which led to the arrest of four men.
During the 10.30pm incident on Monday, the 24-year-old watchman was on night duty with another 23-year-old colleague at the Aurora Producer 1 oil rig, some 0.7 nautical miles (1.2km) northeast of the TLP jetty.
The platform was currently under maintenance.
The watchman was on a video call with his wife when he was suddenly grabbed from behind by three masked men who had climbed up the platform and threatened him and his colleague with a parang.
The suspects then tied up the two men before placing them inside a cabin.
With the watchmen out of the way, the gang headed back down the platform, where one of them was manning a white fibreglass boat. They then began pulling at the underwater cables.
“During the video call, the wife saw the phone being snatched before the screen went black.
Caught red handed: Saiful showing the location on a map of the oil rig, where the four suspects tried to commit the daring crime.
“Well aware of the husband’s position, she called MERS 999,” said Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) acting director-general Rear Admiral (M) Datuk Saiful Lizan Ibrahim.
After verifying the information, MMEA dispatched a patrol team that had been carrying out an operation nearby.
Saiful said the two watchmen were able to undo their bonds and hide themselves while waiting for authorities to arrive.
“All the suspects are local men from Tanjung Langsat. When our patrol team reached the scene, they pretended to be working at the oil rig and ignored our call to identify themselves.
“When approached, the suspects went into the air draught (the space between the water surface and the oil rig) so that our large boat could not follow.
“The underwater cable that they were trying to pull was stuck, and in their desperation, the gang decided to sink their boat to get rid of the evidence, the weapon they used and the two mobile phones they stole from the victims,” he told reporters at the MMEA Sedili Zone Headquarters, Tanjung Sedili Kecil, here yesterday.The suspects, he added, were clinging onto the poles under the oil rig before giving up and jumping into the ocean after exhaustion set in.
The suspects, aged 27 to 47, were arrested at 4.35am on Tuesday and brought to the MMEA Sedili Zone Headquarters for questioning.
“The total loss could not be estimated. We are currently waiting for reports from the oil rig owner on the damage that the suspects have caused.
“A background check revealed that three of the suspects have prior records involving crime and drug abuse,” he said, adding that all were remanded until April 29.
The cables targeted were said to be of high value and MMEA has deployed a team to recover the sunken boat for evidence, he added.
The case is being investigated under Section 391 of the Penal Code for gang robbery.
