Sarawak minister’s stolen SUV recovered
BY YU JI
DSP Mohd Sabri (in blue) checking the chassis of the suspected stolen car with the two suspects in handcuffs in the foreground near Serikin, Bau. ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/THE STAR
KUCHING: The police believe they have recovered the stolen vehicle of a Sarawak minister and apprehended two suspects at the Sarawak-West Kalimantan border on Saturday.
According to Bau police chief DSP Mohd Sabri Zainol, the suspects aged between 28 and 30 years old, were apprehended at the Serikin border post, where it is believed they were trying to deport the Toyota Fortuner to Indonesia. The arrest occurred at roughly 6am.
The number plate of the four-wheel-drive vehicle had been changed, Sabri told reporters. Preliminary inspection of the car, based on the chassis serial number, matched the vehicle stolen on December 16 at Kota Sentosa, a suburb near Kuching.
Assistant Culture and Heritage Minister Liwan Lagang was robbed at knife point by unidentified thieves. The high profile robbery was widely reported in the local media.
"When the first suspect poked me in the back with a knife, I thought nothing of taking him down," Liwan was quoted as saying regarding the robbery.
"I kicked him in the abdomen. However, his accomplice appeared and cornered me.The first suspect cut my right thigh. The second suspect took me down while the first grabbed my car keys. They then drove off in my car," he said.
Liwan was at Kota Sentosa to buy a newspaper.
The border town Serikin is about 80km from the state capital and is regarded as a frontier town that is a popular weekend shopping destination.
