Cops warn against buying such accessories

Never buy personal accessories that contain elements of weaponry or you could end up behind bars.

An 18-year-old was placed under police custody after he was found wandering around in town using a belt that had a knuckle-duster for its buckle last month.

Seeing a shining metal sticking out just under the boy's belly, a beat policeman stopped him for inspection and found it was a solid and rigid knuckle-duster, locally known as buku lima, and brought him to the station for further questioning.

"We first thought the boy had modified the thing to become his belt buckle," said City Police Chief, ACP Ahmad Sofi Zakaria.

But the boy revealed he had actually bought the ready-made belt at a night market here.

"Do not buy such accessories as it amounts to having a dangerous weapon and is an offence under Section 7 (1)(a) of the Corrosive, Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958.

"We will arrest those who sell these things and who buy them," he warned, adding plans were afoot to find those behind the sales of such items.

Meanwhile, a college student was assaulted and robbed while waiting for his girlfriend who went to the fourth-floor toilet of the Centre Point Sabah shopping centre here, last Sunday.

Five men confronted the 22-year-old and demanded money from him but when he refused was punched in the face before the suspects took his mobile phone.

Ahmad Sofi said police managed to track down two of the suspects, locals aged 19 and 20, over an hour later in the same mall.

He said police subsequently arrested the remaining suspects, all foreigners, at Telipok Ria four days later, and recovered the phone from them.