The forensic team conducted an investigation at the scene of the incident.
BUKIT MERTAJAM: A man with 16 previous criminal records was shot dead after exchanging fire with the police in an incident in Machang Bubok, here early this morning.
Penang Police Chief, Datuk Khaw Kok Chin said, in the incident at 12.35am, the suspect was spotted driving a Proton X70 in a suspicious condition by the Serious Crime Investigation Division (D9) team of the Penang Police Contingent Headquarters (IPK) in the Machang Bubok area heading towards Sungai Lembu is here.
According to him, suspicious of the situation, the police then ordered the suspect to stop for an inspection but the man refused to cooperate and tried to escape before firing at the policemen.
"To defend themselves, the police force fired at the suspect's vehicle but he still tried to escape before his vehicle crashed after being chased for 200 meters.
"The suspect then got out of the vehicle and pointed a gun at the policemen, but the quick action of D9 members opened fire and managed to defeat the criminals involved," he said when met by the media at the scene of the incident.
Kok Chin said that a check was made to find that the vehicle the criminal was riding in had a fake registration number and it was also found that the vehicle was also used in two robberies that took place at a fortune teller shop and a convenience store in Seberang Perai Utara (SPU) district earlier this month.
He said, the investigation found that the suspect committed the crime of robbery alone and used a gun to scare the victim before taking away various valuables.
"We believe this criminal is a very dangerous person and has a semi-auto pistol type firearm.
"According to the records, the suspect has previously committed robberies in Penang, Melaka and Kuala Lumpur and we will check whether he is also involved in cases of similar criminal activities in neighboring states such as Kedah and Perak using the same modus operandi," he said. .
He said the suspect is 44 years old and has 16 criminal records in the past, including four robbery cases, drug offences, weapons and corrosive material cases and has been subject to action under the Emergency Ordinance (EO).
He said, by killing the criminals, the police managed to solve two robbery cases reported in the state this year.
