KUALA LUMPUR: A police corporal accidentally shot himself in the arm while in high-speed pursuit of a house break-in suspect in Taman Len Seng, Cheras, last night.
Cheras police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohamed Mokhsein Mohamed Zon said the 10.45pm incident unfolded when a police patrol team spotted a couple behaving suspiciously inside a parked Perodua MyVi and confronted them at Cheras Sentral.
He said when the patrol team introduced themselves, the driver of the MyVi reversed into the police car several times to make way for his escape.
"Our men pursued the car and a high-speed chase ensued. When they reached a spot in Taman Len Seng, the driver again rammed into the unmarked police car a few more times.
"The policeman who was seated in the passenger's seat trained his gun at the MyVi's tires but accidentally shot himself as the suspect repeatedly rammed into the policemen's car," he told reporters at University Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital after visiting the injured corporal.
Mokhsein said the 30-year-old corporal sustained a gunshot wound to his right arm and has been warded.
Meanwhile, the driver of the Myvi died near the scene when he leapt off a 6m-high embankment while trying to escape on foot.
Mokhsein said police who were following in the suspect's trail found his body sprawled on the ground.
"An ambulance was called to the scene but he was declared dead. A background check on the suspect also showed that he had a criminal record with 25 past offences,including for armed robbery, break-ins, attempted murder and drug-related offences.
"His girlfriend, however, has been detained after police found the car used in the chase was in fact a stolen vehicle and there were also house break-in tools inside," he said.
He said police later picked up three more men believed to be accomplices of the suspect in a follow up operation.