Suspect escapes but wife shot during police operation
JOHOR BARU: A 40-year-old woman was shot in the hip and back when policemen opened fired at a car driven by her husband who tried to flee a police operation.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Khalil Kader Mohd said the woman was sent to hospital and was in stable condition.
Her 28-year-old husband escaped during the incident in Bayu Damai, Sungai Rengit.
“We have launched a manhunt for him. He is wanted for theft and drug-related offences,” Comm Mohd Khalil said after attending a handing over ceremony for the new Johor Crime Prevention and Community Safety department chief Senior Asst Comm Razimi Ahmad.
It is learnt that Tuesday’s incident occurred when a team of policemen from Kota Tinggi was carrying out an operation to nab the suspect at about 8pm.
Comm Mohd Khalil said the suspect tried to speed off when the policemen tried to stop him.
“The policemen had to fire to protect themselves as the man tried to ram into them,” he said, adding that at least three shots were fired.
Comm Mohd Khalil said they were also investigating if the personnel followed proper procedure when discharging their firearms.
He said police recovered a car with its chassis numbers tampered with and a fake gun inside it.
Those with information are urged to contact the police hotline at 07-2212 999.
Meanwhile, Comm Mohd Khalil warned people against spreading fake news on social media about rampant cases of children being kidnapped for their organs.
“This is not true. Some of these cases did not happen here.
“We even had one about a gruesome murder in Simpang Renggam, which also turned out to be fake,” he said.
Comm Mohd Khalil said there was a case of alleged abduction of a child in Kota Tinggi on Tuesday. “We are getting two versions. “One was that someone was trying to kidnap a screaming child and the other was that the child was playing on the road and a lorry attendant had moved the child to the side before driving off,” he said, adding that investigations were under way.