JOHOR BARU: A 25-year-old local man has been arrested for allegedly robbing, assaulting and threatening two Rohingya men in separate incidents in Taman Perling here.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said police received two reports involving the victims, aged 25 and 35, following incidents on Sept 9 and 10.
“In the first incident, the victim was riding a motorcycle while looking for grass-cutting jobs when he was stopped by the suspect.
“The suspect allegedly demanded and took the victim’s United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card and grass-cutting machine before leaving the scene,” he said in a statement on Saturday (Sept 12).
In the second incident, Comm Ab Rahaman said the same suspect allegedly stopped another foreigner who was riding a motorcycle nearby and demanded his UNHCR card.
“An argument then broke out, during which the suspect allegedly punched and threatened the victim before leaving the scene,” he said.
Comm Ab Rahaman said police arrested the suspect at about 5.40pm on Friday (Sept 11) in Taman Perling.
He said police also seized a grass-cutting machine, a motorcycle key, a set of clothes, a parang and a UNHCR card.
“Checks found that the suspect has one prior criminal record, while his initial urine test came back negative,” he said.
He said the suspect is being remanded for seven days from Sept 12 to 18 to assist in investigations.
Comm Ab Rahaman said police have also called in the 76-year-old local owner of the motorcycle to have his statement recorded.
“Police are also verifying the authenticity of the victims’ UNHCR cards with the UNHCR office in Kuala Lumpur to confirm their status in Malaysia,” he added.
He said the cases are being investigated under Sections 392, 323 and 506 of the Penal Code for robbery, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation respectively.
Comm Ab Rahaman reminded the public not to take matters into their own hands, stressing that anyone other than the authorities who detains, restricts or checks another person’s identification documents could be breaking the law.
He also urged those with information on criminal activities to contact the nearest police station, the Johor police hotline at 019-2792095 or the Johor police contingent headquarters operations room at 07-2212999.
