Cops fire 5 shots during 70km car chase near Baling

 

Baling police chief Shamsudin Mamat said they detained one of the two suspects who escaped from police. (Facebook pic)

BALING: Police opened fire at a car carrying six people during a 70km car chase which started at a roadblock in Gerik and ended in Baling today.

Baling police chief Shamsudin Mamat said a patrol car unit from the Gerik police headquarters in Perak received information from officers on duty at a roadblock in Sungai Lebey, Gerik, at 4am informing them of a car that had failed to stop at the checkpoint.

He said the patrol crew tracked down the car to a petrol station in Kuala Rui, Gerik.

“When police attempted to conduct an inspection, the suspects fled in the vehicle,” her said.

Police pursued the car until it entered the Baling border in Kedah. The patrol car crew then requested assistance from the Baling police.

Shamsudin said the Proton Perdana was driven in a manner which endangered the lives of road users.

“To prevent the car from colliding with other vehicles, police in the Gerik patrol car issued three warnings through the ‘spectra’ communication device,” he said.

The suspects refused to stop, forcing police to fire five shots, two of which hit the vehicle’s bonnet.

He said the vehicle carried on speeding before it skidded and came  to a halt on the Kuala Pegang bridge.

Two men, believed to be the driver and the front passenger, fled under the bridge and escaped.

Shamsudin said inside the vehicle were a man and three women believed to be foreigners, aged between 23 and 39, who did not have valid identification or travel documents.

“The suspects and the car were taken to the Baling district police headquarters for further investigation. No casualties were reported in the incident,” he said.

He said police made another arrest – a Malaysian in his 30s – at the Gerik bus station at 3pm today, while the other suspect remains at large. - FMT