THIEVES ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE GONE ON A SPREE HERE, STEALING AIR-CONDITIONING UNIT COMPRESSORS FROM HOMES

Air-con compressor thieves prowl JB

JOHOR BARU: A group of thieves are believed to have gone on a spree here, stealing air-conditioning unit compressors from homes which had been left empty during the Chinese New Year holidays.

The Johor Baru MCA division public complaints bureau received several complaints about the thieves, who had been spotted travelling in a van in several housing areas between 2am and 4am.

Bureau chairman John Cheah said the thieves had struck shophouses along Taman Pelangi and homes along Jalan Tun Abdul Razak.

"Some residents went to the extent of installing steel cages to protect the compressors, but that had not proven to be a deterrent to the thieves.

"The thieves had been spotted travelling in a van equipped with a ladder," he said, adding that he had alerted the police about the thefts.

A victim, who only wanted to be known as Wang, said he spent about RM500 for a steel cage after his compressor had been stolen recently. However, even the replacement unit housed in the cage had been stolen.

Wang said the thieves were believed to have sold the stolen items to scrap metal dealers.

"The steel cages were actually a bonus to the thieves."