JOHOR BAHRU, March 5 — Police arrested eight individuals, including a person with disabilities (PwD), for allegedly robbing a foreign manpower supplier using an imitation pistol in the Pusat Perdagangan Pasir Gudang area late last month.

Johor police chief Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said investigators received a report regarding the incident that occurred in the trade centre’s car park at 1pm on February 24.

“Initial investigations revealed that the suspects had earlier followed a 45-year-old Pakistani man after he withdrew cash totaling RM500,000 from a bank accompanied by his wife at 12pm.

“As the victim and his wife were walking to their parked vehicle, they were approached by two unknown men. One of the men then pointed a pistol at the couple before they fled with two bags containing RM500,000 in cash.

“The money belongs to the victim, who is a Pakistani citizen, and was meant to pay for his workers' salaries," he told reporters at the Johor police contingent headquarters here today.

Ab Rahaman said police immediately assembled a team consisting of investigators from the serious crimes division (D9) of the Johor Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and personnel from the Seri Alam district police.

He said police arrested seven local men and one local woman, aged between 23 and 53, at several separate locations in Seri Alam and Tampoi within the next 24 hours.

“The suspects consists of people from varied backgrounds and ages, from a PwD who is wheelchair bound, to a businessman, a mechanic and also a food trader,” he said.

Ab Rahaman said investigations revealed that the 30-year-old businessman and a 32-year-old unemployed man were believed to be the main perpetrators of the robbery that used an imitation pistol.

“Based on the arrest details, the sole woman was identified as a 53-year-old local woman of Pakistani descent who has her own business.

“The disabled man, who is in a wheelchair and partially paralysed, acted as a source of inside information about the incident," he said, adding that two of the suspects had past records involving criminal and drug offences.

All the suspects were remanded until March 10 to assist in investigations.

Ab Rahaman said police seized a Toyota Hilux four-wheel drive vehicle, a Perodua Myvi car, two forged vehicle number plates, two bags, a hat, a black face mask, a pair of white gloves and the imitation pistol from the suspects.

He said the seized cash included RM20,700 in RM10 notes and eight transparent plastic packages containing RM50 notes.

“This is in addition to the confiscation of RM65,830 from a company account belonging to a suspect who managed to deposit the money through a bank deposit machine.

“The total amount of cash seized was RM487,350 while the remainder is believed to have been spent by the suspects for personal purposes including accommodation,” he said.

Ab Rahaman said six suspects will be charged under Section 399, Section 395 and Section 120B of the Penal Code as well as Section 36(1) of the Arms Act 1960 for possession of an imitation weapon.

The suspects are expected to be charged in court tomorrow, while two other individuals will be released and made prosecution witnesses on bond under Section 118 of the Criminal Procedure Code.