GEORGE TOWN: A Myanmar national has been detained for allegedly robbing two foreign nationals in December last year.

       State police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the 29-year-old suspect was arrested at Taman Belibis in Simpang Ampat by a team of police from the state Criminal Investigation Department in an operation codenamed Ops Rentap last Saturday (Jan 8).

       "During the arrest, police also seized a motorcycle, a knife, four mobile phones of various brands, a shirt and a helmet from the suspect," he said during a press conference at the state police contingent headquarters on Tuesday (Jan 11).

       Comm Mohd Shuhaily said police believed the arrest had solved two separate robbery cases that involved Indonesian and Australian victims in George Town.

       He said in the first incident that occurred on Dec 19 last year, the suspect was believed to have snatched a mobile phone belonging to a 46-year-old Indonesian woman at a bus stop in Jalan Burmah.

       The second incident occurred on Dec 30 where the suspect had snatched a mobile phone belonging to a 34 year-old student from Australia at a shop in Lebuh Acheh.

       Comm Mohd Shuhaily said the suspect was taken to George Town police headquarters after he was arrested and the case is being investigated under Section 392 of the Penal Code.

       He added that the suspect was also being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1953/63 after failing to produce valid documentation.

       In a separate case, Comm Mohd Shuhaily said three men and a woman were detained for allegedly being involved in a cable theft incident at a construction site last Wednesday (Jan 5).

       "The arrest came after a site supervisor realised 35m of cable had gone missing at the construction site at Lebuh Bukit Jambul in Bayan Lepas on Wednesday morning and lodged a police report," he said.

       He said acting on information from the report, a police task force from Sungai Nibong police station arrested the suspects, aged between 39 and 61 years old, at an area in Jalan Paya Terubong.

       He added that three of the suspects tested positive for drugs and had prior criminal records whereas the woman had none.

       The case was being classified under Section 379 of the Penal Code for theft.