IPOH: Police fired shots at a car with six people inside after the driver attempted to evade a roadblock in Gerik.

       In the 70km chase from Gerik that ended on a bridge in Baling, Kedah on Monday (April 15), police arrested four Myanmar nationals at the scene, while the two other suspects managed to flee.

       However one of the suspects, a 39-year-old local man was later in the day arrested near the Gerik-Pengkalan Hulu main road, while a manhunt for the other suspect was ongoing.

       Gerik OCPD Supt Zulkifli Mahmood said at about 3.10am on Monday, the police patrolling unit informed the Gerik police district headquarters about a car that evaded a roadblock on KM9 of the Gerik-Jeli road, with the driver seen driving the vehicle in a dangerous manner almost hitting a policeman.

       "The unit then conducted an operation around Kuala Rui in Gerik to trace the car, and the suspects.

       "They then came across the car and followed the vehicle until the border of Baling in Kedah, and got help from two patrol unit cars from the Baling district police headquarters," he said in a statement on Monday.

       Supt Zulkifli said as the car reached the Kuala Pegang bridge, the driver realised the presence of the police, became aggressive and started to drive in a dangerous manner while almost crashing into incoming vehicles.

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       "The suspect refused to cooperate resulting in a policeman firing shots aimed at the car's tyres.

       "The suspect sped off, and not long after that, the car skidded on the bridge, where the two suspects came out of the car and started to run under the bridge, and escaped.

       "We found the four foreigners, one man and three women in the car who had no valid documents with them, and they were arrested and brought to the nearest Kupang police station for further action," he added.

       Supt Zulkifli added that based on intelligence, policemen from the Gerik police district headquarters managed to nab a 39-year-old local man at about 1.45pm.

       He said efforts to trace the other suspect are ongoing.

       "The case is investigated under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public servant from carrying out his duties, Section 26a of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act (Atipsom) 2007, and Section 6(1) (c) of the Immigration Act," he said.