No more driving into Malaysia, says Singaporean who found $8,000 worth of parts in stolen Honda Civic missing

No more driving into Malaysia, says Singaporean who found $8,000 worth of parts in stolen Honda Civic missing
The state Damien found his car in (left) and the remaining dismantled car parts in the car trunk that the thieves had not stolen (right).
PHOTO: Shin Min Daily News

After a nightmarish five days, the owner of the Honda Civic Type-R that was stolen in Genting, Damien Yeo, was finally reunited with his car on Wednesday (July 20).

However, that joy turned out to be quite a short-lived one. 

On Wednesday, Yeo received a call saying that the Malaysian police had found his car over an hour's drive away at Puteri Palma Condominium in Putrajaya, Malaysia. He was called down to identify it, reported Shin Min Daily News

The 28-year-old said that his car was almost "unrecognisable" as parts like the tyres and steel rims had been removed and replaced with cheaper ones.

Some of the car parts dismantled by the thieves were also left in the trunk of the car. In addition, the black car wrap had also been torn off, revealing the car's original white paint.

Even the car keys were also reformatted so that the car could not be driven and the Singapore-registered car plate was replaced with a Malaysian one.

Apart from car parts, valuables like cash cards and cash were stolen as well. 

All in all, this operations executive reckoned that over $8,000 worth of parts and valuables have been stolen from the remodelled vehicle. 

Yeo said he intends to install new parts and anticipates having to "spend a fortune" to do so. 

Currently, the car is with the Malaysian police. 

Despite the losses, however, Yeo told Shin Min he is not complaining. 

"I haven't been able to sleep for a few days and now I'm finally relieved," he said. 

However, he isn't too keen about letting history repeat itself. 

"In the near future, I will not dare to drive to Malaysia," he told Shin Min.

Yeo's car was stolen when he made a trip into Genting Highlands with his girlfriend and two other friends on July 15. 

The car had been parked at a shopping mall called SkyAvenue around 12 pm the day they drove in. When Yeo returned the next evening, he found the car gone and made a police report with the Malaysian police then.

He estimates his Honda to be worth about $220,000.

Singapore has had its own cases of car thefts as well.

Last October, five police officers were hurt while trying to stop a 19-year-old man from driving off in a stolen car in Ang Mo Kio.

ALSO READ: What should you do to reduce your risk of vehicle theft in Malaysia?

melissateo@asiaone.com

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