Second suspect captured
Local caught at roadblock as first suspect remanded over UMS student abduction
KENINGAU:
Police have caught a second suspect trying to escape following the abduction and assault on a 22-year old Universiti Malaysia Sabah student while his accomplice, a 20-year-old from Kota Belud was remanded yesterday for investigations into the crime. The 29-year-old suspect who had fled into the jungles at Kampung Rompon in Tambunan after a high drama chase Wednesday night was fmally caught yesterday and taken to Kota Kinabalu Kota Kinabalu District Police Chief, ACP Ahmad Sofi Haji Zakaria said here yesterday the suspect was arrested at a police roadblock near Tambunan Golf Club at 10. l5am. He said this followed a tip-off from the assistant of the driver of a van that picked up the suspect some ten minutes before his arrest. “The suspect had stopped the van and asked the driver to send him to Tambunan town but only ten minutes along the way the police stopped the van at a roadblock,” Ahmad “The van driver had realised the man is the suspect wanted by police through the photo published in ‘the newspapers today (yesterday). And the van driver just drove his vehicle as usual while ferrying the suspect in his vehicle.” Ahmad said when the van driver saw the police roadblock, he gave a signal to police by flashing his van’s headlight. He said that when the van stopped at the roadblock, police started to check every person in it but the suspect got off and tried to run away. “The police gave chase and successfully apprehended him at the area,” he said. Ahmad thanked the public and media for their cooperation that helped the police in solving the case swiftly. He said the two suspects, both locals, were detained under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code for further investigation, and will be charged under Section 365 of the Penal Code for abduction, which provides seven years jail and a fine. Ahmad Sofi said the second suspect looked haggard and gaunt when he was arrested. He said the UMS student was still deeply traumatized and police were still waiting for a report from the doctor. “The doctor has advised to let the victim calm down. Her physical condition was stable,” he said, adding that the victim’s family has been informed of the incident. Meanwhile, the first suspect was yesterday ordered by the Magistrate’s Court here to be remanded for four days. Magistrate Marlina Ibrahim issued the remand order against the 20-year-old from Kampung Pirasan, Kota Belud following an application by Prosecuting Officer, Chief Inspector Lim Swee Beng. The court heard that police received a report about 9.15 on Tuesday night that a 22-year-old second year Degree in Education student was abducted by two men in a Perodua Kandil car while walking to a church in Taman Kingfisher, Likas. Based on the report, the police managed to arrest the suspect on the following morning after a high speed car chase from Keningau to Kampung Rompon in Tambunan. The driver lost control of the vehicle during the chase, causing it to skid and overturn near the village. But the second suspect from Kampung Tarap, Bongawan managed to evade capture by running into the jungles around Kampung Rompon then.
