KUALA LUMPUR: Four robbery suspects were nabbed after they rammed into a Proton Waja and a concrete highway divider while driving against traffic in the Duta-Ulu Kang Expressway (DUKE) in an attempt to evade police.
They tried to reverse the car after ramming into the divider but failed. They gave up after police fired two warning shots at their tyres.
Yesterday evening’s one-hour high-speed chase started in Taman Sri Rampai.
A police source said a policeman who lived in the neighbourhood had noticed the suspects behaving suspiciously outside a house.
He became even more suspicious when he realised that they were strangers and their car had two number plates, one placed over the other.
“The policeman, a neighbour, immediately called the Wangsa Maju district police station who despatched a patrol car to the house.
“Upon seeing the police car, the four suspects, aged between 31 and 42, sped off towards Wangsa Maju Section 5.
“Our men tried to intercept the suspects’ car but failed. They squeezed through the traffic, in the process hitting a few other vehicles on the road, including a policeman who was on a motorcycle,” he said.
The suspects then entered the DUKE Highway against the traffic flow, with the police in hot pursuit.
“The suspects’ vehicle only stopped when it crashed into a Proton Waja, skidded and crashed into the concrete barrier near the Setiawangsa entrance,” he said.
“The suspects were arrested after police found sponges, screwdrivers, key cutters, cell phone units and other equipment believed to be used to break into homes in their vehicle.”
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim confirmed the arrest of the suspects.
“They will be remanded today to facilitate investigations into whether they were involved in other break-ins and robbery cases.
“We will be holding a press conference on this tomorrow,” he said at the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters today.