BUTTERWORTH: An ikan bilis (anchovies) seller, who sped off with a new Honda Civic 1.8S police patrol vehicle from the Seberang Prai Utara police headquarters on Saturday, was charged with six offences at the Magistrate's Court here today.
The six offences attempted robbery, impersonating a policeman, theft of motor vehicle and theft - were registered under three different cases, with each case made up of two charges.
Mohamad Azrullah Mohd Rodzi, 33, claimed trial to all the charges which were read to him by the court interpreter before magistrate M. Kalaiarasi.
He merely shook his head to indicate that he was not guilty when all the charges were framed against him.
In the first case, Azrullah was charged with attempting to rob one Tang Chye Hong, 49, at a shop along Jalan Permatang Manggis in Tasek Gelugor at about 10pm on Saturday.
He was also charged with impersonating a police officer with the intention to catch Tang at the same place, time and day.
The charges under the first case were framed under sections 393 and 170 of the Penal Code, respectively.
In the second case, Azrullah was charged with theft of a Honda Civic (VEN 6940) belonging to the Royal Malaysia Police at the patrol vehicle division of the Seberang Prai Utara police headquarters at about 9.15pm on Saturday.
He was also charged with impersonating a police officer with the intention to steal the above vehicle at the same place, time and day.
The charges under the second case were framed under sections 397A and 170 of the Penal Code, respectively.
In the third case, Azrullah was charged with the theft of two cell phones - a Vivo and an IPhone 8 Plus - from one Nurul Atieka Mazlan, 21, at a shop in Pokok Sena, Tasek Gelugor at about 10pm on Saturday.
He was also charged with impersonating a police officer with the intention to steal the cell phones from Nurul Atieka at the same place, time and day.
The charges under the third case were framed under sections 397 and 170 of the Penal Code, respectively.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Aisyah Al Humairah Kamaruzaman prosecuted while Azrullah was represented by counsels Muhaimin Hashim and Arafas Abdul Razak.
Aisyah asked for bail to be set at RM10,000 for each of the offences, while Muhaimin requested the court set a lower bail amount, saying that his client was married with a child, adding that his client's income was not fixed.
"I also request to this court for my client to be sent to the Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta in Perak today to undergo mental evaluation for a month," he said.
Kalaiarasi then set bail at RM6,000 with one surety for the first case, RM6,500 with one surety for the second case and RM5,000 with one surety for the third case.
"The court also agrees with the counsel's request for the accused to undergo mental evaluation. Besides that, the accused must also keep his distance from Tang," she added before setting Nov 27 for mention.
Earlier, Azrullah was brought by police to the court building with his younger brother. The latter was however not charged with any offence.
It was reported that police detained two brothers and a woman on Sunday for driving off with a police vehicle from the Seberang Prai Utara police headquarters on Saturday night.
Prior to that, the two brothers, who claimed to be policemen from the information technology resources unit, had reportedly entered the patrol vehicle division in the Seberang Prai Utara police headquarters on the pretext of inspecting the Honda Civic's dashcam.
The elder brother then proceeded to take the key to the vehicle from the rack before leaving a laptop behind. He then sped off with the vehicle from the compound of the district police headquarters, without the supervisor on duty at the division, a sergeant, suspecting anything.
The supervisor only realised something was amiss when the two brothers failed to return with the vehicle after about 30 minutes.
The patrol car was later spotted in Shah Alam, about 370km away. Police managed to apprehend the elder brother and a woman in her 20s, inside the vehicle.
Following their arrests, police also nabbed the younger brother in Tasek Gelugor the same day to assist in investigations.
The woman, who was at first thought to be the elder brother's girlfriend, has since lodged a police report, claiming the man took her away while she was at work.
Seberang Prai Utara district police chief Assistant Commissioner Noorzainy Mohd Noor today confirmed that the woman was not the man's girlfriend, as widely speculated in social media.
"She, too, is merely a victim in this case," he said when met at the compound of the court building, here.