KLUANG, June 9 — It took police only 12 hours to nab a suspected mobile phone thief at his home after investigators identified him from close circuit television (CCTV) footage taken at the shopping centre here.
It was learnt that police immediately tracked down the 24-year-old man based on the address from his motorcycle registration plate that was captured by CCTV during the incident yesterday.
Kluang police chief Assistant Commissioner Bahrin Mohd Noh said the incident started when the suspect visited the mobile phone outlet and told the shop assistant that he was interested in a white iPhone 11 that was on display.
“While in the pretext of taking a closer look at the iPhone 11, the suspect suddenly took off by running out of the premises without paying and fled from the shopping centre with his motorcycle that was parked in the front entrance.
“The retail assistant’s attempt to chase the suspect failed, but investigators later managed to identify the suspect from his motorcycle after viewing the CCTV camera footage for visual evidence,” said Bahrin in a statement today.
According to Bahrin, police immediately launched an operation after receiving a report from the retail assistant at 8pm on the same day.
He said this led to the suspect’s arrest after about 12 hours at his home here at 1.45am today.
“Police seized a blue Honda Wave 125 motorcycle and recovered an iPhone 11 from the suspect.
“In addition, police also seized a red Adidas T-shirt with the inscription Number 22, a pair of black trousers with the inscription ‘Dickies’ and a black baseball cap,” he said.
Bahrin said checks on the suspect’s background revealed that he had two previous records related to crime and for illicit drugs.
He said the suspect had also admitted to stealing the iPhone 11.
The suspect has been remanded for four days until June 12 to assist in investigations.
Police are investigating the case under Section 380 of the Penal Code for theft, which provides for a jail term of up to 10 years or a fine, upon conviction.
