KOTA KINABALU (Malaysia): An unemployed man with a fetish for panties stole over 70 pieces of the undergarment before the law caught up with him.

The 34-year-old was caught by Penampang police after his victims - who included nursing students - reported that their apartments had been broken into and their panties stolen. The man moved around the Ramin Court apartments at Jalan Nosoob under the pretext of distributing flyers and business cards.

Two trainee nurses living in separate units lodged reports on March 20 and April 3 claiming their panties were stolen in a break-in.

A stake out led to the arrest of the suspect. Several pairs of panties were found in his car.

District police chief Deputy Supt Madang Usat said yesterday that the suspect later led police to two boxes of panties placed under a stairway at the Donggonggon business centre.