Three ‘Underwear Gang’ members nabbed after failed break-in bid

from the star

BY ANDREW SAGAYAM
KUALA LUMPUR: Three men believed to be members of the infamous “Underwear Gang” were nabbed when they and another gang member tried to stage a second break-in at the home of a woman Judicial Commissioner.

This time they were not as successful.

In the 3am incident yesterday, the four managed to scale a two-metre-high fence to get onto the compound of the bungalow in Jalan Lembah Ledang.

The home security alarm was triggered off when the gang tried to prise open a kitchen door.

The maid alerted the police after she spotted four men outside, clad only in their underwear.

Four patrol car units from Brickfields district police headquarters sped to the scene and nabbed two suspects less than an hour later. The men were in a car, believed to have been stolen, about 1km away from the bungalow.

City police chief Deputy Comm Mustafa Abdullah said 30 policemen and Federal Reserve Unit personnel had cordoned off the area surrounding the bungalows and mounted a search for the third suspect, who was found hiding in a nearby jungle at 7am by police and FRU personnel.

“We have a description of the fourth suspect and are looking for him,'' said DCP Mustafa.

Last September, three armed robbers broke into the bungalow of the 50-year-old Judicial Commissioner and assaulted her and her contractor husband, before forcing them to the hall where they were tied and gagged together with their three children and two Indonesian maids.

When the couple refused to reveal where they had kept their cash and valuables, all seven were punched and slapped.

The armed men then ransacked the house and escaped with jewellery, cash and personal valuables worth about RM22,000.

The “Underwear Gang”, whose members are mostly Indonesians, has been active in the Klang Valley since 1996.

There have also been reports of such underwear-clad intruders in other states.