KOTA KINABALU: Police arrested four local men in connection with a cable theft and attempted murder case here after a high-speed chase spanning more than 20km ended when their vehicle crashed into another car early Tuesday (April 28).
Acting Kota Kinabalu City police chief Supt Syed Lot Syed Ab Rahman said police are looking for a fifth suspect who managed to flee the scene.
He said the incident occurred at about 3.19am when a crime prevention patrol team from Luyang received information about cable theft activity near Merdeka Supermarket Lido.
When police arrived, they found a group of men allegedly attempting to steal cables in the area.
The suspects, in a four-wheel drive vehicle, fled towards Rugading in Tuaran upon noticing police.
"A chase ensued towards the Rugading area. The suspects drove against traffic in a dangerous manner and attempted several times to ram the police vehicle.
"In their attempt to escape, their vehicle collided with a civilian four-wheel drive vehicle, injuring its driver," he said.
Syed Lot said the four suspects, aged between 28 and 43, were arrested and their vehicle was seized.
"We recovered several tools used for cable theft, including cutters, a chain block, modified iron rods and rolls of cable," he added.
He said the case is being investigated under Section 307 of the Penal Code and Section 235 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.
Efforts to track down the remaining suspect are ongoing, he said, urging anyone with information to contact the nearest police station.
Earlier, Tuaran Fire and Rescue Station chief Kurong Ak Beki said firefighters were called to extricate a victim who was trapped in a vehicle following the crash near Kg Berungis in Tuaran at about 4.40am.
He said the four suspected cable thieves were injured, while the 61-year-old driver of the second vehicle had to be extricated.
"All were given initial treatment by medical responders before being sent to hospital," he said in a statement.
