Deputy IGP: Yemeni theft victim overreacted
KUALA LUMPUR: The Yemeni student who knocked down and killed a snatch thief had overreacted after his bag was snatched, said Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim.
He said the university student had gone beyond the limits of self-defence when he crashed into the suspect.
“Citizen’s arrest can be made against such criminals, but should not result in their death.
“But in this incident... it was a simple theft case, and in my opinion, the student has overreacted,” he said yesterday.
Noor Rashid said police had detained the student and the case was being investigated under Section 304 of the Penal Code for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
“We will give due consideration in our recommendation to the deputy public prosecutor,” he said.
The Yemeni has been remanded for a week till Aug 6 to facilitate investigations.
On the day of the incident, the student was reportedly eating at a restaurant in SP2, Serdang Perdana in Seri Kembangan, when his bag was snatched at 3.30am.
The bag contained a wallet with RM2,050 and US$500 (RM2,100) as well as personal documents.
The student got into his car and pursued the thief, who was on a motorcycle.
After a 3km chase, the student reportedly rammed his car into the motorcycle near a traffic light.
The suspect, 25, died of head injuries.