PETALING JAYA, Jan 12 — Five months after serving their prison sentences, a group of three men were rearrested by the police, believed to be involved in break-ins and thefts around Petaling Jaya, Serdang and Ampang.
Petaling Jaya district police chief, ACP Mohamad Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid said the men who are all locals aged between 39 and 59 were arrested in two locations in Pudu and Setapak on January 4 as a result of intelligence and public information.
He said the raids were carried out after police received a report from a 56-year-old man who reported suffering losses totalling RM50,000 after his house was burgled on December 25.
Mohamad Fakhrudin said the ex-convicts’ modus operandi is to target unoccupied homes and would normally break in between 11am and 3pm when the house occupants are out at work.
“The suspects will throw stones or ring the bell to make sure nobody is in the house before breaking in,” he said at a press conference held at the Petaling Jaya police district headquarters here today.
Mohamad Fakhrudin said the group was believed to be active about two months ago.
He said they had just finished serving their sentences under the Prevention of Crime Act (POCA) in July 2021 and had previous criminal records, for drug, burglary and theft cases.
“With the arrests, we believe we have managed to solve five burglary cases reported in 2021 with two cases Petaling Jaya, two in Serdang and one in Ampang,” he said adding that all of them have been remanded for 10 days until Friday for further investigations.
He added that police also confiscated a car believed to be stolen used by the group. Police found several break-ins tools, jewellery, several pawn shop receipts and electronic items. — Bernama
