KUCHING: Two foreigners were arrested for stealing a vegetable seller’s purse on Tuesday morning at a shop near Emart Supermarket at Batu Kawa here.
The vegetable seller had reported losing RM3,000 in cash and also personal documents in the incident.
The two suspects were in a car heading towards Kuching/Serian Road at about 3.30pm on Tuesday. They were stopped and checked at Mile 9 Kuching-Serian Road.
One of the suspects fled into a nearby jungle while his friend, 44, from Malapatan, Sarangani Province, The Philippines, was arrested.
Police seized from him trousers, shirts, RM2,400 in his front pocket and RM2,000 in his trousers’ pocket. In his Bonia wallet was RM1,870.
The other suspect, who had earlier escaped into the jungle, was caught in front of the Starbuck at Kuching International Airport. The 29-year-old man was from Gingoog City, Province of Misamis Oriental, The Philippines.
Seized from him were a passport and a pair of shorts.
Padawan police chief Supt Aidil Bolhassan said police checked the CCTV and found a suspect grabbing the victim’s bag. The other suspect was waiting in the car.
The suspect at the airport admitted that he was trying to flee to Miri. Both confessed to the stealing from the vegetable seller. They said they were desperate as they could not find stable jobs.
One of the suspects had rented the car from a company in Kuching.
