SEPANG: Police shot dead 43-year-old a man who was believed to be the leader of an armed robbery gang after a shootout on Tuesday in Taman Mas Sepang , Puchong .
Selangor deputy police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Jaffar said in the 9pm incident, a team of officers from the Selangor Contingent Headquarters serious crimes division pursued a white Nissan Grand Livina multipurpose vehicle (MPV) during a routine patrol.
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Picture of the Matruji gang leader Mat Ting War @ Matruji killed in a police shootout. Pix by Mohd Fadli Hamzah.
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Abdul Rahim said when the officers neared the MPV, the lone driver stopped the vehicle and fled into nearby bushes before opening fire in their direction.
"A firefight ensued for several minutes before the officers found the man’s body,” he told a press conference at the Speang district headquarters, near here, yesterday.
He said investigations revealed that the deceased was identified as Matruji @ Mat Ting War from Sampang, Indonesia. The officers also recovered a Chechen made Vzor 70 Cal 7.64 semi-automatic pistol loaded with three bullets.
Abdul Rahim said Matruji, a leader from the police-termed Rantau Mahkota gang, has held a series of past criminal records committing armed robbery and burglary since 2005 in Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.
He said the suspect’s fingerprints had been traced in 27 robbery and break-in cases and it was likely that he had been involved in more cases as he was a known career criminal.
The vehicle that Matruji was driving in also carried fake number plates and was reported stolen earlier this year.
However, Abdul Rahim said Matruji’s accomplices, around 5 or six of them, were still at large.
“It is unfortunate that Matruji could not be taken alive but I believe our officers have gathered intelligence on them (gang members),” he said, adding that a large metal-cutter, believed to be used for break ins, was also recovered from the stolen vehicle.
