KUALA LUMPUR: Police have obtained a seven-day remand order to hold a man suspected to have brutally assaulted and robbed a woman in a lift at the Taman Mutiara MRT station in Cheras on Valentine’s Day.
City police chief Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim said the 26-year-old suspect was arrested at his rented flat in Taman Cheras at 8.10pm on Monday.
“The man, an air conditioning technician, hid in his flat after the Feb 14 incident. After days of stakeout, a team from the Cheras police headquarters serious crimes division raided his unit.
“When the team entered the flat, the man, who is a Gang 08 member, was shaving his head to try to hide his identity,” he told a press conference at city police headquarters.
Mazlan said the man would be remanded till Feb 25 to facilitate investigations under Section 394 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery.
He said investigations revealed that the man had robbed a convenience store near the MRT station before he followed the 48-year-old woman into the lift.
“We manage to identify the suspect based on the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage retrieved from the convenience store. He also tested positive for Ecstasy and methamphetamine,” he said, adding that police seized 19 mobile phones, several bank cards, Touch n Go cards and a red Modenas Kriss used by suspect.
He said, so far, the man had admitted his involvement in eight cases, including robbery and car theft, in Cheras.
“He has a past criminal record for drug-related offences under sections 12(2) and 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 for taking and being in possession of drugs; and sections 324 and 395 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means and gang robbery.
“Based on investigations, police believe he is a lone ranger when committing crimes,” he said.
Mazlan added that the man had been actively committing crimes since 2014.
“He is a hardcore drug addict... when he does not have a job, he will commit robbery so that he can buy drugs.”
The case at the MRT station came to light when a CCTV recording of a woman being beaten up and then robbed in a lift went viral on social media, resulting in a huge outcry from netizens.
The woman was alone with her assaulter in the lift when the incident occurred about 6.45am.
The victim suffered numerous injuries from the beating and lost RM400 in the robbery.