PETALING JAYA: A suspected cable thief with a criminal record of 37 offences has been arrested after a 30-minute car chase in Kuala Lumpur on Monday (Aug 31), during which police fired several shots at the vehicle.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Comm Datuk Fadil Marsus said traffic police patrolling the Kesas Highway-Bukit Aman route spotted a suspicious vehicle at around 9.30am.
The driver sped off when ordered to stop, prompting officers to give chase from the Awan Besar toll plaza towards Klang (West) before the vehicle headed towards Jalan Hang Tuah 4 in Sri Petaling.
“A shot was fired at the suspect's vehicle during the chase, which lasted about 30 minutes before the vehicle stopped near a petrol station in Sungai Besi.
“However, the suspect refused to cooperate and attempted to ram the police,” he said in a statement on Monday.
Comm Fadil said police then fired several shots at the vehicle.
The suspect subsequently sped off again before losing control of the vehicle and crashing into another car along Jalan Hang Tuah 4.
A 29-year-old man was arrested at the scene, while the driver managed to flee.
A search of the vehicle uncovered various tools believed to have been used for cable theft, as well as stolen cables.
Comm Fadil said checks found that the arrested suspect was a wanted person with a lengthy criminal record.
“The case is being investigated under Section 307 of the Penal Code, Section 42(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987, Section 427 of the Penal Code and Section 379 of the Penal Code,” he said.
Comm Fadil said a remand order against the suspect under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code would be made on Tuesday (Sept 1).
He added that police were tracking down the second suspect who fled the scene.
Members of the public with information are urged to contact the Brickfields district police headquarters or Brickfields police hotline at 03-2297 9222, Kuala Lumpur police hotline at 03-2115 9999, Tun H.S. Lee Traffic Police Station at 03-2071 9999, or any nearby police station.
