Woman, 71, in coma after theft

MALACCA - A 71-year-old woman is in a coma after falling to the ground and hitting her head during a snatch theft in Jalan Gajah Berang here on Friday.

The incident occurred at 10.20am as Ho Ah Lui was walking at the roadside with her sister, Ho Lai Ying, 68.

They were on their way to a nearby shop to buy groceries.

State Criminal Investigation Department chief Assistant Commissioner of Police Raja Shahrom Raja Abdullah said Ah Lui was walking behind her sister when two men on a motorcycle approached them.

He said the pillion rider snatched her black handbag from the back and she fell to the ground.

Lai Ying only realised what had happened when she heard the motorcycle speeding away, and saw Ah Lui lying on the ground and bleeding in the head.

"The victim was immediately sent to the Malacca General Hospital.

"She is still in a critical condition in the intensive care unit," Raja Shahrom said at state police contingent headquarters in Bukit Beruang here yesterday.

He said just 20 minutes earlier, there was a similar failed robbery attempt on a teenager in Jalan Tengkera, just before Jalan Gajah Berang.

"The 17-year-old salesperson was waiting at the bus stop when a pillion rider on a Suzuki RG motorcycle tried to grab her necklace," he said, adding that police believe both cases involved the same suspects.