14 shots fired at contractor’s house

GEORGE TOWN: A 48-year-old contractor was rudely awakened by gunshots at his house early yesterday morning.

The victim was asleep during the 5am incident but awakened when he heard loud noises outside his home in Jalan Ismail Che Mat here.

Northeast district police chief ACP Mior Faridalatrash Wahid said the homeowner at first thought firecrackers were being let off.

He said the victim only realised shots were fired when he went out and saw bullet casings all over the road.

He said closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera recordings showed two men on a motorcycle arriving at the scene before one of them fired 14 shots towards the house.

He said the suspects fled the scene soon after the shots were fired which hit the wall and floor of the house.

“We believe the suspects wanted to threaten the owner,” he said when reporters met him at the scene but declined to elaborate.

Police have launched a manhunt for the duo to assist investigations under the Firearms Act 1960 and for criminal intimidation under the Penal Code.

Meanwhile, a neighbour, who declined to give her name, said she did not suspect anything amiss until her food caterer told her what happened in the morning.

“I thought the road was under repair when I woke up and saw the section cordoned off,” the 76-year-old said.