Local, Sarawak News - Monday, March 22, 2010 8:05 - 0 Comments

Suspected latex robbery gang leader remanded

SIBU: Local police yesterday remanded the gangster said to have attempted to extort a rubber taper before robbing him at knife-point in Sungei Bidut.

WAR ON GANGSTERISM CONTINUES: Yeoh (right) standing next to a car with the sacks of latex seized in Sungai Bidut. Police have arrested a man (left, in handcuff) to help in their investigation.

They applied for a five-day remand in court under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code and were now investigating the 38-year-old for armed gang-robbery.

Police believed the suspect had taken a group of up to 10 men armed with parangs to a rubber estate in the downstream village last Tuesday to impose a levy for the collected latex at 20 sen per kilogramme.

When the victim refused, the gangster allegedly robbed the man of his 49 sacks of latex worth over RM30,000.

The victim lodged a report last week, and then a CID team led by ASP Yeoh Chun Shyan, laid ambush outside the man’s house overnight.

They jumped on him on Saturday when he returned home.

The police also seized four sacks of latex and two parangs from the suspect.

Following his arrest, Sibu police chief ACP Shafie Ismail assured the villagers the police would not sit on the gangsterism crime when rubber tapers were terrorised by gangsters who collected latex levy from them.

Shafie said he had received the villagers’ letters of complaints.

“I assure them that tough action against these gangsters has already begun.

“We are getting help from our headquarters. We expect to arrest more gangsters,” he explained