Suspected burglar shot, accomplices held after 20km chase by police

KUALA LUMPUR: A suspected burglar was shot and wounded after he tried to attack police with an iron rod following a high-speed car chase that took patrolmen over 20km in the city yesterday.
While two of his accomplices escaped, police managed to arrest two others – a man and a woman soon after the chase came to an end at Bukit Hartamas, Cheras here.
Police said patrolmen on crime prevention routine had spotted a white Toyota Alphard with five people in it moving suspiciously along Jalan Tun Razak at about 12.20am.
The patrolmen flagged the vehicle down and when they stepped out to investigate, the driver of the car sped off.
The patrolmen gave chase and pursued the suspects who drove through Jalan Chow Kit before heading towards Cheras.
Even when they were faced with a police roadblock at Taman Dagang, the driver defied orders to stop by policemen and crashed through the barricades.
The pursuing policemen then opened fire at the tyres of the car after finding the speeding vehicle a danger to other road users.
However, this too did not stop the driver until he came to a dead end at a fishing pond in Bukit Hartamas.
Blocked by a patrol car and unable to escape, three occupants of the car jumped out of the vehicle and ran towards a jungle with policemen in pursuit.
While two of them managed to escape, the third man who was armed with an iron rod he found nearby was cornered by the policemen.
In his desperate bid to escape, the suspect tried to attack the policemen with the rod.
In self-defence, a policeman whipped out his service revolver and fired a gunshot that hit the suspect's thigh.
Kajang deputy police chief Supt Mohd Sabri Abdullah said two other suspects – a man and a woman who remained in the getaway car were arrested.
He said the shot suspect was sent to a hospital where he is reported to be in stable condition.
Mohd Sabri said the suspects who are aged between 20 and 40 and were remanded yesterday had past criminal records.
He said they were also sought for burglary and drug related offences.