KUCHING, Aug 29: The police have ruled out that yesterday’s mob attack on two males suspected of involvement in a lottery scam case was not a racial confrontation, after two civilians tried to take matters into their own hands to apprehend the suspects.
Sarawak Deputy Commissioner of Police CP Datuk Dev Kumar in a statement today clarified that the confrontation was related to a cheating case, and was not racially motivated.
He said 12 individuals including two females have come forward to give statements at the Padawan District Police Headquarters at around 2.30pm this afternoon to testify that two individuals wielded dangerous weapons when trying to apprehend the suspects in the lottery scam case.
“The two individuals have been arrested. They are aged 38 and 22. One steel baton and a steel hammer have been confiscated.
“Investigations revealed that they did not wield machetes during the confrontation as alleged,” said Dev.
He also pointed out that although the law does allow civilian arrests, civilians should not go overboard when manhandling suspects especially with dangerous weapons, and inflict injuries on the suspects.
“Civilians can be prosecuted if they go overboard when carrying out a citizen’s arrest,” said Dev.
He said the case was being investigated as criminal intimidation under Section 506 of the Penal Code and Section 6(10) of the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958.
Both suspects are currently remanded for further investigation, he added. — DayakDaily
