Four cable thieves arrested in less than 24 hours
KOTA KINABALU - Four men involved in the theft of electric cables were successfully arrested in less than 24 hours through several raids around Kota Kinabalu last Friday.
The raids were made following two police reports made by a telecommunications company that there had been an incident of cable theft belonging to the company in Jalan Kebajikan and Jalan Rampayan, Manggatal.
Kota Kinabalu District Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Zaidi Abdullah said his side received a police report involving a loss of RM51,500 after the company's cables were stolen.
"Based on information, an operation was carried out in the Telipok Manggatal settlement area at about 5 am and we managed to arrest two local men in their 30s who are believed to be the thieves of the electric cable.
"After the arrrest, we managed to seize the case items that were in the suspect's possession, namely cables and copper that had been burned for the purpose of selling them to get money," he said in a statement on Sunday.
Mohd Zaidi added that the arrest led to an unnumbered house in the Telipok settlement area, which was the location of for the buying and selling of stolen cables and copper.
"The police then managed to arrest a Filipino man who is an employee of the premises, and at 12 noon, in a bush area near Jalan Kebajikan, another suspect believed to be involved in this case was arrested.
"Also seized were the items involved in the case, which were several coils of cables that have been cut and equipment that the suspect used to steal cables," he said.
In this regard, Mohd Zaidi further added that with the arrest of the four suspects, the cable theft case has been successfully solved and investigated under Sections 431A and 379 of the Penal Code.
In the meantime, he also urged the local community to continue to help the police channel information related to the theft of electric cables so that criminals can be caught immediately.
"The police do not compromise with anyone who is involved in crime, especially owners or operators of scrap metal premises who break the law and work with criminals for the sole purpose of making a profit," he said.
