[ArrereGarhync]

11 September 2012 | last updated at 08:36AM

Robbers had long crime record

IPOH: The four robbers killed in a shootout with police at Taman Meru 2C here last Friday were Indonesians with a long history in crime.

Perak police chief Datuk Mohd Shukri Dahlan said three of the suspects had a total of 10 convictions for gang robbery and manslaughter since 1997, while the fourth man had no previous record.

"One of the suspects was sentenced to five years in jail for manslaughter in 1997.

"He was also convicted of gang robbery in Temerloh in 2002, Seremban in 2004 and Beserah in 2007."

The four, aged 25 to 40, were believed to be responsible for at least 15 armed robberies in Kuala Kangsar, Sungai Siput, Taiping and here, over the past few months.

They were shot less than 24 hours after they robbed a Japanese family.

Business consultant Shimizu Akira, 33, his wife Manami Shimizu, 33, and their housemate, Oya Shintaro, 20, were held up at their Meru Valley Golf Resort home, two weeks after their arrival in Ipoh.