Suspect caught red-handed ‘thanks to GPS tracking’

KUALA LUMPUR:Police arrested a man for fleeing in a sports utility vehicle (SUV) left on the roadside by a mall valet at Jalan P Ramlee here yesterday, but the suspect was later caught driving.

Dang Wangi police chief ACP Noor Dellhan Yahaya said that in the 12.48pm incident, the 31-year-old owner of the SUV handed the car over to the parking valet before it was temporarily moved to the side of the main exit road.

“About 10 minutes later, when the car was to be moved again, the SUV was gone and appeared to have been stolen, but the car keys were still with the valet,” he said today.

Noor Dellhan said the car owner, who is an interior designer, was informed of the theft while leaving the mall at 1:20 p.m. and rushed to file a police report.

“The victim then contacted the Dang Wangi control centre to report the loss of the car and for an ‘all points bulletin’ to be issued to locate the vehicle,” he said.

He said that at 2.35pm the same day, the SUV was found at USJ 1 Avenue, Subang Jaya, Selangor by a police MPV patrol and the suspect driving the car tried to escape but was apprehended.

“The application for remand of the 58-year-old suspect, who has two criminal records for drug-related offences, will be made today to assist investigations under section 379A of the Penal Code,” he said.

Earlier, the case went viral on social media after the victim posted about losing the car during a valet parking service at the mall and the SUV was tracked in Subang Jaya using its global positioning system (GPS).