GEORGE TOWN, June 15 — A routine check on a vehicle, whose driver was acting suspiciously this morning, turned into a 6km high-speed car chase that left one pedestrian dead before the police shot at the car tyres and arrested the suspect.
In the 6.40am incident, two policemen were patrolling the Datuk Keramat area when they noticed the driver of a silver Myvi behaving suspiciously at the traffic lights at the junction of Perak Road and P. Ramlee Road.
When they tried to stop the car, the suspect sped off in the direction of the Perak Road market and hit a pedestrian who was crossing the road without stopping.
According to Northeast District police chief Assistant Commissioner Soffian Santong, the police gave chase as the man sped towards Jalan Van Pragh.
“When he reached Jalan Batu Uban 2, near E Park, he was ordered to stop but he behaved aggressively, tried to escape and almost rammed into the police car so they shot at the back tyres on the right thrice,” he said.
At the same time, he said another policeman, who came to assist the arrest, shot at the front of the car.
The suspect was then dragged out of the car by several policemen and arrested.
“He did not have any injuries and we found three packages of heroin on him,” he said.
The suspect, 46, works as a grass cutter and has 16 previous convictions, 14 of which were for drug offences.
Soffian said the 61-year-old pedestrian, who was hit by the suspect at Perak Road, died at the scene of the accident.
He said investigations revealed that the car the suspect was driving was registered to a car rental company in Bayan Lepas.
The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstruction of a public servant from discharging his duties and Section 39 of the Arms Act 1960.
