Tiny but dangerous: 'Pen guns' potentially used by criminals in Kelantan

KOTA BARU: Police are looking into the possibility of criminals in the state using 'pen guns' to threaten their rivals.

Kelantan police chief Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun said this after their counterpart in Thailand detected the 'tiny weapon' being used by criminals in the country.

"Firstly, l would like to thank our Thai counterpart in Sungai Golok sub-province for exposing this latest threat.

"Following this, l have directed all district police chiefs, including those stationed at the Kelantan/Thai border, to be on alert about this.

"I have told them to take this matter seriously. Although the pen guns usually do not kill, they may cause injuries to the victims.

"I do not want this to happen in Kelantan, and it is a possibility local criminals will use the same tactic to hurt their rivals," he said.

Zaki, however, said so far, the state police has not recorded cases involving pen guns in the state.

He then said pictures of the pen guns had been distributed to all the district police chiefs.

It was reported recently that criminals in Sungai Golok sub-province are using 'pen guns' as the weapon of choice for attacking their rivals, including those from Malaysia.

Sungai Golok police chief Colonel Pratya Baite had said the single-bullet firearms would only cause injuries to victims, not kill them.

He added the pen gun looks much like a regular ink pen and is easy to carry undetected.

Pratya said pen guns were being used by local criminals to shoot their rivals, including those from Kelantan, and the shooting would normally take place at their 'meeting point'.

He said Thai police had detected a series of attacks that happened in the border town since early this year.

He also believed a few suppliers in Sungai Golok town sold the pen guns to local criminals.