Trader in coma after assaulted and robbed
GEORGE TOWN: Police have detained two men and are hunting down another for suspected involvement in the assault and robbery of a trader, causing him to go into a coma, at a parking area behind the Sandilands Condominium here early last Friday.
Timur Laut District Police Chief ACP Che Zaimani Che Awang today said the men, aged 23 and 25, were detained outside a motorbike workshop near Jalan Air Itam on Sunday, and police were tracking down their friend.
He said passers-by found the victim, Lai Chia Luen, 33, sprawled and unconscious with head injuries in the area at about 2.10 a.m.
“Closed-circuit television recordings in the area showed three men on two motorbikes were involved in the incident, with one suspect assaulting the victim with an object believed to be a piece of wood before escaping with his belongings,” he told reporters here.
He said early investigations found that the security guards at the condominium did not hear any sound of struggle, but said they had seen the victim before as he often went to the area to fetch his female friend who was a foreigner.
Che Zaimani said the victim’s belongings including wallet, handphone and car keys were missing, believed to have been robbed by the three men in the incident.
Che Zaimani said the victim who suffered serious injuries, has been sent to the Penang Hospital and doctors have confirmed he incurred broken facial bones and bleeding in the brain.
He said the man was still unconscious and in critical condition.
Urine tests conducted on the two men were found to be positive for drugs and they had previous drug-related records, Che Zaimani said.
He added that they have been remanded for further investigations and the case was being investigated under Section 395/397 of the Penal Code.
