MELAKA: Three cable thieves have been arrested after a 65-kilometre (km) car chase from Jalan Parameswara here to KM239.1 of the Plus Highway northbound, leaving a trail of eight vehicles damaged.
Melaka Tengah police chief ACP Christopher Patit said another suspect managed to escape after their car crashed in the 5.30 am incident on Nov 5.
He said those arrested were aged 26, 28 and 38.
The four were spotted in a Nissan Navara by a police patrol and suspected of being involved in stealing Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) cables.
He said when the police patrol approached their SUV vehicle, they sped off towards the Alor Gajah-Melaka Tengah-Jasin Highway near Peringgit here before exiting to the Ayer Keroh toll road towards the Pedas-Linggi Plus Highway heading north.
“During the hot pursuit, their vehicle hit two public vehicles at Bukit Palah, Melaka and side-swiped six other vehicles on the highway before crashing.
“A struggle ensued between the police and the four suspects but one of them managed to escape,“ he said in a statement today.
He said an inspection of the suspects’ vehicle found 148 TM cables and cable theft tools while a check found that all the suspects have over 20 criminal records involving robbery, burglary, theft and drugs.
He said the case is being investigated under Section 379 of the Penal Code and Section 6(1) of the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958.
Christopher said police are also tracking down the escaped suspect and appealed to anyone with information to call 06-2842222.
