[duceswild]

Saturday, Aug 25, 2012
KOTA KINABALU - Five friends thought they could escape the law by coming to Sabah and breaking into lavish condominiums and apartments near here. The group of two women and three men, from the peninsula, arrived at the state capital on July 24.

Guided by a city map, the tourists-turned-burglars, aged between 34 and 53, began targeting high-end condominiums and apartments within the district.

City police chief Assistant Commissioner Jauteh Dikun said the group would randomly pick their targets and travelled in a rented car.

"They were also equipped with housebreaking tools and will knock on doors and pretend to ask for directions. They will only break into a unit if their knocks go unanswered.

"They also choose their targets by observing empty parking lots," he said yesterday, adding that one of the women was a Chinese national.

Jauteh said the group had committed 14 break-ins since last month with estimated losses amounting to RM440,000. He said the suspects had also left and returned to the state after a few successful break-ins.

"We formed a special taskforce after receiving reports and managed to track them down last week to a hotel here.

"Police arrested the suspects in two separate raids and recovered several stolen items," he said, adding that a Proton Persona used by the suspects was also seized.

Among the confiscated items were foreign currencies, maps, jewellery and housebreaking tools. Jauteh did not rule out the possibility that the group was also targeting houses in other districts.