Friends waylaid by machete-wielding men
KUCHING: Two friends had a motorcycle and their personal belongings stolen after they were waylaid by armed men while riding through Jalan Astana in Petra Jaya on Monday.
The incident occurred around 9.30pm when the victims, a 17-year- old male and his female friend, were heading to a shop to purchase fuel for their motorcycle.
As they approached an unlit stretch of road near the old State Legislative Assembly complex, they were suddenly stopped by two men, who were soon joined by two more men, and threatened with machetes to surrender their belongings in the form of mobile phones and wallets.
The friends were then told to get off their motorcycle and could only watch as two of the suspects rode off with the machine while the other two escaped on foot into a nearby jungle.
District police chief ACP Abang Ahmad Abang Julai, who confirmed the incident when contacted yesterday, revealed that police moved quickly to arrest one of the robbers following a report lodged by the victims.
“Acting on information from the victims, who recognised one of the suspects, a police team led by ASP Austin Patrick Angkon arrested a 27-year- old man from Kampung Gersik at 10.45am today (yesterday).
“The suspect has admitted his involvement in the robbery together with three other accomplices who are currently being sought by police,” he said, adding the suspects were intoxicated at the time of the incident.
In a separate incident, a foreign labourer lost cash and other belongings after a stranger walked up to him and snatched his sling bag on Monday.
The incident took place around noon when the 28-yearold victim and a co-worker were taking a lunch break next to their worksite along Jalan Setia Raja.
According to the victim, an unknown man walked up to him and engaged in ‘small talk’ before suddenly grabbing his sling bag and fleeing on foot.
The labourer immediately gave chase and managed to grab hold of the snatch thief, who reacted by striking the former on his head with a brick.
The victim could only then watch helplessly as the perpetrator got on a motorcycle parked nearby and sped off from the scene.
A police report of the incident has been lodged.