GEORGE TOWN, July 23 — Police have arrested four men suspected of burglarising a home in Taman Hutchings here on July 3 and taking the family on a terror ride before dropping them off across the state line in Sungai Petani.

George Town District police chief ACP Mior Faridalathrash Wahid told a press conference today that the suspects were picked up on July 19 in Sungai Petani, Kedah.

“Three of the suspects are from Kedah, one is from Penang and two of them have previous criminal records,” he said.

On July 3, two men broke into a house in Taman Hutchings in George Town and tied up the family of four at knifepoint.

After ransacking the house and taking some cash, jewellery and electronic items, they forced the family into their Mercedes-Benz and took them on a terror ride to Butterworth before the father escaped.

The rest of the family were released unharmed at Sungai Petani, Kedah while the robbers drove off with the car.

The district police chief suspects one more person was involved and is at large. He added that the police are tracing his whereabouts.

With the arrest of the four men, aged between 21 and 42 years, the police also recovered the Mercedes-Benz, two hand phones, one iPad, two power banks and jewellery.

“During interrogation, the 32-year-old suspect admitted being involved in the Taman Hutchings case with another still at large, while the three other suspects arrested were believed to be the buyer and sellers of the stolen items,” he said.

The suspects will be investigated under Section of the stolen items, he added.

The main suspect in the robbery will be investigated under Section 395 /397 of the Penal Code for gang robbery, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping upon conviction.

The other three will be investigated under Section 414 of the Penal Code for buying and selling stolen goods, which carries a jail sentence of up to seven years or fine upon conviction.

“We believe that with the arrests of these suspects, we have solved up to seven other burglary and robbery cases in George Town and Sungai Petani, Kedah,” Mior said.