Five killed after breaking into politician’s house (Updated)

Updated 6.51pm, 13 May 2009

JOHOR BARU, 13 May 2009: Police shot dead five armed criminals shortly after they had broken into the house of Syahrin Mohd Jamaluddin, the political secretary to Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today.

A police spokesperson said in the incident that occurred at about 2 am, only the victim’s wife and three of their children were at home at Kampung Sinaran Baru, Kempas while Syahrin was in Putrajaya.

“The victim’s wife, Huzaimah Yahya and his children were not harmed. The criminals fled with jewellery and cash taken from the victim’s house in a Proton Waja belonging to the victim,” said the spokesman.

After receiving information on the incident, police sent a team to the scene and cornered the criminals, who were foreigners, at a slip road heading to the Kempas Highway, about two hours after the incident.

The criminals, armed with pistols and parang, tried to attack the police before all of them were shot dead at the scene, the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Syahrin, who is also an Exco member of Umno Youth, rushed home to Johor Baru immediately after receiving a call on the incident at 3.30 am.

“My wife and children had been tied up, but my wife managed to untie herself and fled to my father’s house. My father then informed the police,” he said.

At a press conference at the Johor Contingent Police Headquarters later this afternoon, Johor Police Chief Datuk Mokhtar Shariff said four men and three women, all foreigners, were detained when police raided two houses in Kampung Semangat, Tampoi and Taman Mawar, Pasir Gudang.

The houses were believed to have been the hideouts of the five criminals who were shot dead earlier.

All the seven foreigners who were detained, aged between 20 and 48, did not have any valid travel documents and were believed to be members of the housebreaking gang known as ‘Geng Bonding’.

In the raid at 4.45 am, police found a bag containing housebreaking tools in the first house.

“They are suspected to have committed 22 violent robberies in Kota Tinggi, Simpang Renggam and Johor Baharu since last January,” Mokhtar said.  

He said the criminals concerned not only harmed their victims and tied them up before robbing them, they were also believed to have raped their victims. — Bernama