MAN NABBED OVER THEFT OF DOZENS OF BOOKS FROM KOTA BHARU LIBRARIES

KOTA BHARU, Oct 15 (Bernama) -- A man in his fifties has been arrested on suspicion of stealing dozens of books from two libraries in the district.

Kota Bharu police chief, ACP Mohd Rosdi Daud, said the man was detained yesterday at 12.05 am by a team of officers from the Kota Bharu District Headquarters Criminal Investigation Division.

He said several items were also seized, including 15 books belonging to a state agency library.

The arrest followed a police report lodged on Oct 13 by a 31-year-old man, an assistant publication officer, after he discovered that several books from the state library were missing.

"The complainant was alerted by a colleague who informed him about books being sold on Facebook, suspected to have been stolen from the library," he said in a statement today.

Mohd Rosdi said a review of CCTV footage showed an unidentified man concealing books inside his clothing before leaving the location.

He confirmed that the suspect has been remanded for five days, until this Saturday, to assist with the investigation under Section 380 of the Penal Code for theft within a building.

On the same day, police received another report regarding a book theft at a private library in the district.

"The complainant, an operations and welfare officer, a 40-year-old woman, reported that several books had gone missing on Oct 4," he said.

"The suspect has admitted involvement in this case as well. Police have not ruled out the possibility that he is connected to several other cases involving the theft of reading materials around Kota Bharu," he said.

-- BERNAMA