IPOH: The high speed pursuit involving a four wheel drive vehicle and several police patrol vehicles (MPVs) for over 50km on Feb 19 occurred because the individuals aboard the vehicle were suspects in a cable theft case in this city.
Perak police chief Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the suspects, four men aged between 38 and 42, were successfully apprehended by the police yesterday in Padang Serai and Sungai Petani, Kedah.
The arrests were carried out by a team from the D4 Branch of the Criminal Investigation Division at the Ipoh district police headquarters.
Yusri said the four suspects were previously sought regarding a cable theft incident in the Taman Ipoh Jaya Timur area on Feb 19.
He said that acting on the information from the public, the police attempted to apprehend the suspicious Toyota Hilux on the day of the incident, which tried to evade arrest. Assistance was requested, and several police patrol cars were assigned to pursue the vehicle.
"Several police patrol cars were assigned to pursue the suspect's vehicle until the North-South Expressway (PLUS). The suspect's vehicle was located (that day), but the four suspects managed to escape."
"Following investigations, the four suspects were successfully arrested last night (Feb 26). The police also seized various equipment used by them to steal cables, and upon interrogation, all four suspects admitted involvement in the case," he said in a statement today.
He said the investigation was being conducted under Section 379 of the Penal Code for theft, as well as Section 186 of the same Code for obstructing public servants from carrying out their duties.
Yusri added that initial urine screenings found all suspects positive for methamphetamine drug use and they have been remanded from today until March 1.
It was previously reported that two policemen were injured when a patrol vehicle they were in skidded while chasing a suspect's vehicle at KM215 on the Plus Expressway northbound near Taiping.
Earlier, Berita Harian reported that two policemen, a corporal and a lance corporal aged 38 and 29, were involved in the accident when the MPV they were in hit a metal object thrown from the vehicle driven by the suspect.
In the 6.50am incident, the policemen involved received an instruction from the district control centre at the Taiping district police headquarters (IPD) to assist five other police MPV patrol cars from the Ipoh IPD in an effort to stop the suspect's vehicle.