SIBU – Police in central Sarawak looking for a gang of break-in “specialists” behind a spate of property burglaries in Sibu district were taken aback when upon closing in on the culprits found them to be children and teenagers.
They arrested nine boys aged between 11 and 16 years who had experienced breaking into retail outlets for theft several times despite most of them still going to school.
The police arrested the gang of burglary suspects over the weekend.
"We arrested a group of nine boys aged between 11 to 16 at various locations in Sibu town on October 29 and 30,” Sibu police chief Asst Comm Zulkipli Suhaili said yesterday.
"The arrests were carried out following probes on the latest case of break-in that happened in a coffee shop in the town centre.
"The nine boys are suspected of being involved in at least nine cases of break-ins and thefts already, even though most of them are still schooling.”
Investigation on the latest coffeeshop burglary led the police to the young gang and their loot of more than RM 10,000 which they eventually traced back to nine other previous cases.
He said that the youngsters’ modus operandi was to carry out their crimes during the late night and early morning hours.
"They know how to break into coffee shops and retail outlets," he said.
Zulkipli said initial probes showed that the nine suspects acted as a unit and had recently made away with stolen items and cash worth about RM 10,500.
The police have detained them for probe (as minors) and classified the cases as breaking into premises and stealing, he added.
It was reported last year that there is an increasing trend of youths and schoolchildren under 18 years being involved in misdemeanours like theft.
According to the Statistics Department, minors were involved in 5,342 criminal cases in 2020 – a 10.5% increase from 4,833 in 2019.
The number of first-time offenders in 2020 also increased by 15.7% to 4,916 cases compared with 4,248 the year before. – The Vibes, November 11, 2023
