MELAKA: A 21-year-old female university student went through a terrifying ordeal after being chased by a knife-wielding man at a shopping mall parking bay in Taman Lagenda, in what Melaka police have described as a random attack on a shopper.
Melaka Tengah OCPD Asst Comm Christopher Patit said the victim told the police that she did not know the 50-year-old suspect and had never had any prior dealings with him.
In the incident, which occurred at about 9.30pm on Saturday, the victim fled with her 16-year-old sister into the shopping mall after being approached by the stranger, who behaved aggressively while brandishing a knife.
“Preliminary investigations found that the suspect, from Kelemak in Alor Gajah, suddenly shouted and hurled abuse at the victim before chasing her with a knife, causing fear and panic.
“The victim managed to escape unharmed after running into the mall, while the attacker stopped pursuing her after he tripped and fell,” said ACP Patit.
He said the suspect was arrested following a police report lodged by the victim yesterday.
“We also seized a knife and clothing believed to have been used during the incident and obtained CCTV recordings from the parking area and mall entrance to trace the suspect’s movements.”
ACP Patit added that the suspect was detained in the parking area about three hours after the incident, where he had locked himself inside his vehicle before eventually surrendering to police at about 12.25am yesterday.
The case is being investigated under Section 506 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation.
