Robber who preyed on women performing prayers at suraus nabbed

SHAH ALAM: Police have caught a man who preyed on women performing prayers suraus and a religious school here.
District police chief ACP Shafien Mamat said police detained the suspect who was arrested by criminal investigation department officers in Kelana Jaya on Oct 13.
Shafien said the man's modus operandi was to dress up in a robe with a hidden parang under it and waylaid women who went to the suraus for Zohor (afternoon) prayers.
Investigators got their lead after identifying the suspect from closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) footage which showed him withdrawing RM800 from a bank account of one of his victims at a petrol station's automatic teller machine (ATM).
"The 39-year-old man entered various suraus in Shah Alam and Bukit Jelutong under the pretext of performing Zohor (afternoon) prayers but robbed women who were performing their prayers instead.
"He even molested one of his victims in the four cases recorded against him," ACP Shafien told reporters in a press conference at the district police headquarters here today.
"Police realised that the suspect, who has a criminal record for cheating would always be clad in a robe while keeping a lookout for lone female worshipers. He would then threaten them with a parang.
"On Oct 6, he had robbed and molested a victim. He also demanded her ATM card pin number and subsequently withdrew all the victim's money from an ATM machine at a nearby petrol station. The police identified the suspect through the CCTV recordings which led to his arrest."
The total losses including cash, jewellery and handphones are estimated to be close to RM10,000.
Police officers who raided the suspect's rented house in Kelana Jaya at 4.45pm found weapons which included parangs, swords and cables. The police also recovered items belonging to his victims at the house.
ACP Shafien added that the man, a divorcee with five children, is currently remanded and is being investigated under the Penal Code for armed robbery, assault to a person with intent to outrage modesty and voluntarily causing hurt while committing robbery.