Sibling robbers prey on kids
KUALA LUMPUR: Three teenage siblings who have been trained to rob jewellery from children as young as six years old have been taken into police custody.
The siblings, consisting of two boys and a girl aged between 13 and 17, have carried out their activities during festivals around Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak since 2012.
The young criminals were understood to have been trained by their 52-year-old father and 41-year-old mother. Both of them have previous records for robbery.
It is learnt that their latest robbery took place at the recently concluded Jom Heboh carnival, which was held in Bukit Jalil on Nov 30 and Dec 1.
Case solved: ACP Mohan Singh showing the items that were confiscated from the family.
“We believe the teenagers targeted children whose guardians were busy shopping or watching concerts,” said Cheras OCPD Asst Comm Mohan Singh during a press conference yesterday.
He said the teenagers would approach their intended victims and use a small scissors to snip off jewellery from their necks or wrists before taking off with the stolen loot.
Acting on a public tip-off and two reports lodged during the carnival, police deployed a task force codenamed “Ops Cantas/Rentap” to track down the family.
They were nabbed in front of a five-star hotel in Bukit Bintang on Sunday.
“We confiscated RM4,640 from the family. We also found a weighing machine and receipts which showed that the suspects had sold their stolen loot to various jewellery shops in the past year,” said ACP Mohan Singh.
He said that among the confiscated articles were a small scissors, a handphone, six lockets, 12 necklaces, three bracelets and an earring, all believed to be made of gold.
Some of the jewellery were found hidden in the father’s shoes.
“With the arrest, we have solved 31 cases,” said ACP Mohan.
He said the suspects would be remanded until Dec 6 to facilitate investigations.
He urged those who lost their jewellery during the Jom Heboh carnival to contact ASP Ong Seng Keong at 019-372 7888 to identify the stolen items.
The Star
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