A mentally-unsound man wanted in connection with sexual assault of a young boy was arrested after a near three-hour standoff with police at his house in Kampung Bintawa Tengah yesterday.

The 47-year-old, who has previously undergone treatment for his mental condition, sought refuge above the ceiling of his wooden house after noticing the arrival of a police team around 8.30am.

Armed with a knife, the jobless man threatened to stab anyone who tried to enter the ceiling and refused to leave despite numerous attempts by police to coax him out.

Later, police noticed smoke coming from the ceiling and believing the suspect had started a fire, contacted the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) for assistance.

Bomba personnel from the Petra Jaya station were despatched to the scene and immediately trained their hoses on the ceiling of the house to douse the flames and prevent the house from being razed.

The standoff ended around 11.15am when the decision was made to hose the suspect out of his hiding place, which led to him jumping out of the ceiling and into the hands of waiting police personnel.

As the suspect was being led away, a commotion broke out when the father of the young boy whom the suspect was accused of sexually assaulting attempted to charge at him, but was stopped by those around him.

It is learned the family had recently lodged a police report alleging the suspect had sodomised the four-year-old boy who lives several houses away.

Following the report, police had tried to arrest him on a number of occasions over the past few days, only to see the suspect escape by jumping into a nearby river.

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by Gary Adit

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]