Thieves caught driving away with stolen telecom cables in tow; Penang police investigating

A video showing motorcyclists chasing down a car, with telecom cable in tow, in Penang's George Town went viral on Tuesday (June 2), prompting local police to launch investigations.

According to Penang state legislative assembly member Kumaresan Aramugam, the incident happened on Monday.

The video shows at least three motorcyclists trying to prevent a dark coloured Mazda 6 hatchback from driving away.

They sounded their horns at the hatchback and could be heard shouting at the vehicle's occupants several times. 

Meanwhile, a cable is seen trailing alongside the vehicle before it eventually slipped forward and crashed into a curb, narrowly missing one motorcyclist. 

Responding to local media queries, the district's deputy police chief Lee Swee Sake said his department received a report from Telekom Malaysia at about 10.50am on Tuesday morning.

"The complainant, a 41-year-old Telekom Malaysia technician, informed (the police) that he saw a viral video lasting one minute and 24 seconds at around 7am which depicted a cable theft incident by the roadside at Jalan Batu Uban 1, Gelugor."

Superintendent Lee added that the complainant then conducted at on-site inspection and found that a 70 metres long Telekom Malaysia cable, valued at RM17,000 (S$5,480), had been cut and stolen.

Police are now investigating the case under the alleged offences of theft and damage to network facilities. Efforts to trace the persons involved are also underway, said the deputy police chief.

[[nid:737139]]

editor@asiaone.com