KULIM: Police have secured a six-day remand order against the suspected fuel smuggler who knocked down a policeman while evading arrest yesterday, leaving the victim with serious head injuries.
Judge Mirza Mohamad granted the remand application when police presented the suspect, in his 40s, at the Kulim Sessions Court here this morning.
It was understood that police have reclassified the case from a traffic offence to attempted murder under Section 307 of the Penal Code.
In the 9.15am incident yesterday, the corporal attached to the Kulim Hi-Tech police station was patrolling on his motorcycle when he spotted the suspect behaving suspiciously behind the wheels of a Nissan Frontier.
The 31-year-old policeman tried to get the driver to pull over, but the latter sped off, prompting a chase.
In his haste to evade arrest, the suspect's vehicle knocked into the victim's motorcycle along the Kulim-Serdang trunk road before speeding off.
Kulim police chief Superintendent Redzuan Salleh was reported as saying the suspect was subsequently detained in Butterworth at about noon.
He had said the suspect from Sungai Petani had three previous criminal records.
The suspect tested positive for THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) drug.
Police later discovered that the suspect's pickup truck was modified with a fuel tank in the cargo compartment, suggesting that he was involved in subsidised fuel smuggling.
The corporal is fighting for his life at the Penang Hospital after undergoing surgery yesterday.
It is learnt that he is married and has one child.