JOHOR BARU, Sept 17 — A man and a woman have been arrested and a revolver seized in connection with a botched armed robbery attempt where a senior citizen was killed in Kangkar Tebrau four days ago.
A special team from the state police serious crimes unit arrested the duo aged 36 and 21, and also seized a Smith & Wesson .38 revolver after a brief car chase that saw several warning shots fired along the Pasir Gudang highway towards the Pasir Gudang industrial area at 4.45am yesterday.
The male suspect sustained a gunshot wound to his leg while his female accomplice was unharmed after they crashed their Perodua Myvi and tried to flee.
Another male suspect escaped arrest.
A source familiar with the investigation said the police team had earlier located three suspects travelling along the highway in a Perodua Myvi car that was reported stolen.
“The police team in a marked car gave chase by putting on the vehicle’s siren and identifying themselves before ordering the suspects to stop.
“However, the suspects refused and became aggressive by trying to ram the police car and going on the opposite side of the highway in an attempt to flee.
“The pursuing team then fired several shots to the car’s tyres before it lost control and crashed into a road divider,” said the source to Malay Mail today on condition of anonymity.
Shortly after that, the suspects tried to run but the couple was nabbed while another male suspect escaped into some nearby bushes.
It was learnt that the injured male suspect, a local from Taman Desa Harmoni here, is known to police. Investigators are also checking the background of the female suspect who hails from Pontian.
The source said initial investigations revealed that the suspects were believed to be connected to the case where an elderly 78-year-old woman was killed by a stray bullet during a botched robbery attempt at Jalan Tun Fatimah 2 in Kangkar Tebrau several days ago.
“We also believed that the revolver seized from the suspects was used in the incident as the firearm’s calibre is the same,” said the source, adding that the revolver has been sent for a ballistics test.
Police are hunting for the third suspect.
The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder as well as Section 3 and 4 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 for discharging and exhibiting a firearm.
Johor police chief Datuk Mohd Kamarudin Md Din is scheduled to hold a press conference on the incident at the Seri Alam district police headquarters at noon today.
On Friday, P. Indrani was hit by a stray bullet as she was sitting at the front yard of her house at 8.57pm.
She died while receiving treatment at Sultanah Aminah Hospital here.
The stray bullet came from shots fired by a suspect in a botched robbery attempt several blocks away.
