GEORGE TOWN: Police spent three hours yesterday attempting to calm a drug addict who had run amok and threatened to detonate three gas cylinders at his family flat in Jalan Gangsa, Jelutong here.
In the end, deputy northeast district police chief, Superintendent Lee Swee Sake himself stepped in to persuade the man to calm down.
Speaking in Hokkien, he managed to convince the man to turn himself in, bringing the drama to a close.
The incident began around 9.30pm when neighbours reported a commotion coming from the unit occupied by the 45-year-old man and his family.
It was understood that the man, who was high on drugs, had turned violent, hitting his own mother with a rotan and threatened to detonate three cooking gas tanks in the flat.
Lee said policemen were deployed to the flat to rescue the senior citizen, who is in her 70s.
He said firefighters were also dispatched to the scene due to the danger posed by the gas tanks.
"Despite two hours of trying by the authorities, the suspect still refused to release his mother and even threatened to jump from the 11th floor," he said.
Lee then personally went to the scene and spent another hour trying to persuade the man against going further.
The man finally relented and released the woman from the house.
Lee said he had to take the risk.
"I had to do it out of concern that he would turn even more aggressive and detonate the gas tanks, endangering other residents.
"The suspect initially refused to communicate with me. However, when I spoke to him in Hokkien, he finally relented and released his mother," he added.
He said police and firemen then entered the unit, which was filled with the smell of gas.
Police took the suspect into custody and sent the woman to the Penang Hospital for treatment.
The other occupant of the flat, the suspect's younger sister, was away at work when the incident happened.
Lee said the suspect's urine test came back positive for 'syabu' (methamphetamine) use.
"We were told the suspect does not have a proper job and would act aggressively when under the influence of drugs.
"His criminal record shows three previous offences for drugs and petty crime," he said.
The suspect has been remanded for three days. The case is being probed under Section 324 and 506 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation.