Serial armed robber nabbed, air pistol seized
On Dec 10 last year, the suspect, who is from Melaka, robbed a 66-year-old office staff at the Archdiocesan Curia and Cathedral Pastoral Centre at Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg while armed with a pistol.
KUCHING: Police have solved at least three armed robbery cases here following the arrest of a serial offender and seizure of an air pistol.
State CID chief Datuk Dev Kumar said police nabbed the 26-year- old suspect at a shopping mall on Jan 11 in connection with robberies at Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg and Jalan Stutong here, as well as in Riveria Bay in Kota Samarahan.
“On Dec 10 last year, the suspect, who is from Melaka, robbed a 66-year- old office staff at the Archdiocesan Curia and Cathedral Pastoral Centre at Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg while armed with a pistol.
“On Dec 18, he broke into an apartment at Riveria Bay, Kota Samarahan that was occupied by a 35-year- old woman.
“The victim tried to run away but the suspect threatened her with the pistol and discharged a shot into the ceiling.
“He then demanded the victim hand over her valuables but she only gave him RM100.
“Unsatisfied, he tied her hands with a belt, pushed her onto the bed and threatened to harm her, but fled through the bedroom window when she resisted and screamed for help,” said Dev Kumar in a statement yesterday.
He said the last case happened on Jan 4 around 8pm when the same suspect entered a kindergarten at Sin Hai Min Garden in Stutong, kicked open a bedroom door and confronted a 23-year- old caretaker before fleeing the scene with two mobile phones.
On Wednesday, the suspect led a police team to his rented apartment in Riveria Bay and showed them where he had hidden the firearm used in the robberies.
“The police team recovered the pistol and a magazine which were hidden in the plaster ceiling. The firearm was found to be an air pistol or BB gun which looked like an automatic pistol,” said Dev Kumar.
He said police also recovered several items in the apartment which suggested that the suspect, who has two previous convictions for robbery and possession of a firearm in Melaka, had committed many more similar crimes here.
“Investigation is ongoing and we expect to solve many more ‘ lone wolf’ robberies with this arrest,” said Dev Kumar, adding that the suspect is under remand until Jan 29.