KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — A suspect wanted over a knife attack that injured two police officers in Perak died after being shot when he allegedly charged at another police team with a machete during an attempt to arrest him.

The shooting took place at about 8.20am yesterday in Kampung Kelian Gunung, Ijok, after police received a tip-off about the suspect’s hiding place, Utusan Malaysia reported.

Perak police chief Datuk Mohd Alwi Zainal Abidin said a team from the Selama district police headquarters, led by Inspector B. Thanabalan, went to the hut to arrest the man.

“Upon arriving at the location, the raiding team saw the suspect beneath the hut before identifying themselves as police officers and attempting to approach him.

“However, the suspect stood up, grabbed a machete that was nearby and charged at the officers, swinging the weapon at them,” he told a press conference at the Selama district police headquarters today.

Mohd Alwi said police fired one shot in self-defence, hitting the suspect in both thighs and causing him to collapse.

The man allegedly continued resisting arrest, resulting in a struggle before officers seized the machete and detained him.

Police then sought medical assistance from Selama district hospital.

“However, the medical team that arrived at about 9.20am confirmed that the suspect had died,” Mohd Alwi said.

A postmortem examination was carried out today by a pathology specialist from Taiping Hospital, although the results had not yet been obtained.

Police checks found that the suspect had 10 previous criminal and drug-related records, comprising three criminal cases and seven cases linked to drug possession and misuse.

He was wanted over an incident on June 23 in which two police officers were allegedly attacked with a knife during an operation to arrest suspected drug users at a hut in Kampung Sungai Jernih, Ijok.

One officer, aged 44, suffered injuries to his head, abdomen and hand, while a second officer, aged 27, was injured on his forehead, beneath his eye, hand and elbow.

Both officers were treated at Taiping Hospital for three days. The suspect fled after the attack.

The case is being investigated under Section 307 of the Penal Code for attempted murder.