JOHOR BAHRU: A 63-year-old local man was killed in a shootout with police in Taman Molek here at about 3.10 am today.
Johor police chief Datuk M Kumar said officers on patrol spotted a Honda Vario motorcycle ridden by the man behaving suspiciously along Jalan Persiaran Bumi Hijau.
He said the police team then tailed the motorcycle and managed to stop it in a nearby area.
“As the police officers were about to step out for an inspection, the man fired several shots, forcing them to return fire in self-defence until the situation was brought under control.
“An inspection found that the man had been shot and died at the scene. His body was sent to Sultan Ismail Hospital for a post-mortem,” he said in a statement today.
Kumar said police recovered a Smith & Wesson pistol on the road near the suspect, along with four live bullets and two spent shell casings.
“Checks revealed that the suspect had 14 past criminal and drug-related records, including one under the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971, one under the Arms Act 1960, and another for which he was still wanted by the police.
“The case is being investigated under Section 307 of the Penal Code and Section 3 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act,” he said.
Kumar also urged the public to provide information related to crime and drugs through the Johor police hotline at 019-2792095 or the operations room at 07-2212999.
