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KUANTAN – A 25-year-old man who while on drugs, drove 75km from Kuantan to Maran to avoid being nabbed by police, now faces a string of charges, including drug possession and driving an unregistered vehicle.
Maran district police chief Norzamri Abd Rahman the suspect was apprehended after his Honda Odyssey multipurpose vehicle went off the road near Felda New Zealand in Maran, about 69km from here.
He said the incident started at about 3.20pm yesterday, when the suspect tried to flee after being flagged down by Kuantan district police headquarters traffic policemen in front of a supermarket in Jalan Tanah Putih here.
“The policemen claimed that the suspect was on a cellphone while driving a car with its registration number obscured, which flouted the stipulated specifications.
“However, the suspect was said to have sped off towards Jalan Kuantan-Maran, prompting police to seek the help of a patrol car. The Kuantan IPD subsequently contacted us with on the suspect’s route,” he said here today.
Norzamri said Maran police had put up barriers at the traffic light junction to enter the Maran toll plaza, forcing the suspect to perform a U-turn to escape.
The police officers had to shoot at the vehicle’s front tyres; the car skidded about 12km later near an oil palm plantation before the man, who had criminal and drug records, was arrested.
“A plastic packet believed to be containing syabu was found in the car. The vehicle was found to be unregistered as it was using a false road tax sticker and number plate,” he said.
Norzamri said the suspect was remanded until Monday to aid investigations into offences including driving dangerously, obstructing civil servants in the line of duty, drug possession, and using an unregistered vehicle. – Bernama, March 12, 2021
