CAR THIEF WHO FLED WITH BOY INSIDE NABBED 260 KM AWAY ON PLUS HIGHWAY

GEORGE TOWN, March 31 (Bernama) -- Penang police caught a car thief who drove away with a five-year-old boy from Kampung Banggol Mosque, Pokok Sena in Tasek Gelugor near here at 8 pm last night, seven hours later in Selangor on the North-South Expressway.

According to Penang police chief Datuk Hamzah Ahmad, at around 8 pm, the father of the boy who has special needs had left his Honda BRV with engine running in the mosque’s parking area while he briefly went out to attend to his one-year-old daughter.

He explained that an opportunistic thief jumped into the car and drove off with the child. The distraught 41-year-old father attempted to chase after the car but failed.

"Around 3.45 am this morning, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) team from the Penang police headquarters managed to track the vehicle to a petrol station at the Behrang R&R stop (between Slim River and Tanjong Malim) on the North-South Expressway (PLUS) heading south.

The suspect was found asleep in the car with its engine still running at the Behrang R&R petrol station, about 260 km from the crime scene.

"When asked to open the door, the suspect attempted to escape by reversing the car but collided instead with a police vehicle parked behind it," he said in a statement today.

Hamzah said police broke the car window and overwhelmed the suspect who put up a resistance during the arrest, before they rescued the boy who was unharmed.

He said investigations revealed that the suspect, a 36-year-old local man, had a criminal record of 10 drug-related cases, including two wanted cases and five other criminal cases.

The suspect is now under remand until April 3 for further investigation under Section 379A and Section 363 of the Penal Code.

Hamzah advised the public to learn from the incident and not to leave young children unattended in vehicles with the engine still running.

-- BERNAMA