SHAH ALAM: For months, a 39-year-old man had been going to various suraus on the pretext of performing the Zohor prayers when in fact his purpose was to rob the female worshippers and even molest one of them.
His days of terrorising women came to an end when he was arrested by the Shah Alam district Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers in Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya on Oct 13.
The CID got their break after identifying the man from CCTV recordings which showed him withdrawing RM800 from a bank account of one of his victims at a petrol station's automatic teller machine.
Shah Alam district police chief Assistant Commissioner Shafien Mamat said the man had in June, July, August and October robbed women of their belongings in three suraus in Bukit Jelutong and Section 4. He had also robbed teachers of a religious school in Kelana Jaya.
"At the suraus, he would always wear a robe to show he was there for prayers but he was actually looking for female victims especially those who were on their own. He would rob them, threatening them with a parang and tying them up with phone charger cables. He would only attack during Zohor prayers to take advantage of the smaller congregation.
"On Oct 6, he had robbed and molested a victim at the Surau Al-Ikhlas in Bukit Jelutong. He had also demanded for her ATM card pin number and subsequently went to an ATM machine at a petrol station in Kampung Melayu Subang to withdraw money.
"All of the victims had identified him through the recordings and we made the arrest a week later," said Shafien in a press conference at the Shah Alam district police headquarters today.
In total, the victims have accumulated a loss of RM9,000 in cash, jewellery and handphones.
Shafien revealed that the man, who is linked to a cheating case, was on his way out for another robbing spree when the CID team showed up at his rented home in Kelana Jaya at about 4.45pm.
Investigators found items the man had used to rob his victims such as parang, cables, a knife and clothing as well as the belongings of his victims.
Shafien added that the man, a divorcee with five children, is currently under remand until Oct 26 and is being investigated for armed robbery, voluntarily causing hurt while committing robbery and outraging modesty.
Shafien called on victims of similar crimes who have not reported to the police to come forward.
He also advised the management of suraus and mosques to equip the places of worship with CCTVs which would be of great help in police investigations.
In a separate case, Shafien said post mortem results revealed there was a single gunshot injury to the head of the 26-year-old youth who was believed to have shot himself with a firearm belonging to his businessman father in Section 9 on Tuesday
Shafien said the unemployed youth, whose father holds the Datuk title, had a history of drug abuse and had previously undergone rehabilitation.
"The post mortem at Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang was completed at 4am. We have also handed over the body to the family for burial. This case has been classified as sudden death,” said Shafien.
The youth was found dead at home at about 5.31pm by his maid who had moments earlier heard the sound of gunshot coming from the master bedroom.
A shotgun was found next to the youth, who was said to have been suffering from depression for several months.