Man loses 4WD, other valuables after vehicle driven off

MIRI: Police are on the hunt for a man who drove away a four-wheel- drive vehicle (4WD) while its owner was in the midst of exchanging foreign currency at a money changer near High Street Road here Thursday afternoon.

Miri police chief ACP Lim Meng Seah confirmed having received a report on the incident said to have occurred around 2.30pm.

The complainant who is a palm oil entrepreneur from Baram had gone to the money changing outlet to change Brunei dollars into Malaysian ringgit and left the 4WD engine on and door open as his mother aged 81 was inside the white Toyota Hilux Single Cab 2.5 Mt with plate number QMV4655.

After completing the transaction, he headed back to the place where he had left his vehicle only to discover that it was gone.

“A few minutes later, the complainant’s mother called the complainant and told him to pick her up at a nearby restaurant,” Lim added in the statement.

According to the mother, after the suspect had drove off the vehicle for a short distance, he forced her to leave the vehicle after threatening to kill her if she refused to get out.

When the woman opened the door, she was pushed out of the 4WD by the suspect.

The suspect was described as skinny, has short hair and in his 30s.

Total losses suffered in the incident were estimated at RM50,000. Among items lost were a passport belonging to the complainant, two gold necklaces, a gold bracelet and two gold rings.