Two more shooting incidents in M'sia

Malaysia was hit by two more shooting incidents on Friday night with the crime wave which has swept the country showing no sign of abating.

In the mainland Penang town of Nibong Tebal, six men, aged between 30 and 50, were having a drink at a coffee shop when they were suddenly attacked, The Star reported.

The police chief of Penang, Senior Deputy Commissioner Abdul Rahim Hanafi, said they were shot at randomly by two assailants on a motorbike.

"The victims sustained gunshot wounds on the legs and buttocks, and were rushed to hospital," Mr Abdul Rahim said.

"All the victims are found to be in stable condition.

"Witnesses said the two assailants wore full-faced helmets and sped off immediately after firing the shots," he said.

In another incident in Ipoh, police nabbed four suspects said to be involved in gang violence after a shootout which lasted almost two hours, the New Straits Times reported.

Officers raided the suspects' house and arrested two of them while the other two tried to flee via the roof.

Said deputy state police chief A. Paramasivam: "When we ambushed the suspects' house, we managed to capture two of them on the ground floor.

"Another suspect, who tried to flee through the roof, however fell into the neighbour's house. The fourth suspect, who had a weapon, was captured at a vacant house nearby."

He added: "During the ambush, we also found several packets of (the drug) Erimin 5, and seized a Beretta automatic pistol along with a 9mm bullet casing.

"None of the policemen and suspects were injured in the incident."

Faced with rising crime, the Malaysian government has formed a special police unit comprising 400 highly trained officers, to target drug lords.

"They will hit out at the drug syndicates and the underworld without warning," The Star quoted the Home Minister, Dr Ahmad Zahid, as saying.

"We want to hit the drug world where it hurts the most by apprehending the big-time players."

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