Three criminals shot dead after assaulting cops

JOHOR BARU (Jan 11, 2014): Three criminals were shot dead in Ulu Tiram here after assaulting a team of patrolling policemen earlier today.
Johor police chief Senior DCP Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff said the 4.45am incident occurred when the trio, believed to be foreign nationals, were spotted behaving suspiciously by the policemen.
"When the policemen tried to approach them for inspection, one of them drew a revolver and fired two shots at random, while the two others each pulled out a machete and waived the sharp objects in the air," he told a press conference here today.
In defence, he said the policemen returned fire and shot them dead. Initial investigation found that the criminals had robbed three workers at the a nearby plant nursery just an hour earlier.
Mokhtar said the trio were also believed to be involved in 25 robbery cases in Johor and Perak, including one reported in Mersing yesterday.
"In two of the cases, the criminals had also caused injuries to their victims," he said.
Apart from the revolver, he said three live bullets and the two machetes, police also found a fake pistol, a talisman, some cash and several stolen items on the robbers. However, no identification documents were found. – Bernama