Thief presents himself as a cop without dressing up

The Star, Thursday, 21 January 2016

by nicholas cheng

KAJANG: While criminals are spending money and going to great lengths to dress up as policemen to rob, one thief managed to fool victims without the uniform or any flashy gear.

The 32-year-old suspect, clad in regular shirt and jeans and a motorcycle helmet, rode up to a couple of young motorcyclists waiting at a traffic light junction in Jalan Reko here at about 11.30pm last Friday and introduced himself as a “policeman”.

But his word alone seemed enough to strike fear in the two 20-year-olds as they willingly gave the man their identification cards, smartphones and wallets, even before the light turned green.

“The suspect just said he was an officer and needed their ICs and valuables,” said Kajang OCPD Asst Comm Willey Richard.

“I don’t know why but they just believed him. They gave him the items, which the suspect then put in his bag. 

“He also told them if they wanted the items back, they would have to meet him at the Kajang police headquarters. And he rode off,” he said.

The gullible youngsters did as they were told. 

“They went to the station and waited there for hours before they realised that the man was not a policeman.

But the real police were on it. Using the iCloud account on one of the victims’ phones, they managed to track down the suspect to his flat in Bandar Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur and arrested him.

When questioned, the unemployed man confessed that he had robbed other victims by posing as a policeman.

He faces up to 22 years in prison if convicted on charges for robbery and impersonating a police officer.

ACP Willey advised members of the public to always ask an officer for his or her police identification card and to confirm their post with the police.