KUANTAN, Sept 12 — In an operation conducted in Temerloh on Wednesday, police arrested two men and seized copper cables and equipment believed to have been stolen from the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project.
Temerloh police chief ACP Mazlan Hassan said the two suspects, aged 34 and 41, were detained at approximately 6.30 pm by a team from the Criminal Investigation Division of the Temerloh district police headquarters.
"The first suspect is an unemployed individual from Mentakab with four prior drug-related records. The other, a self-employed man from Bentong, has five previous criminal records. Both tested negative for drugs following initial screening," he said in a statement today.
Among the items confiscated were five sacks of cut copper cable, one roll of copper cable, a cable cutter, bags, a headlamp, gloves and various electrical tools, including a grinder and batteries.
Yesterday, the media reported that China Communications Construction (ECRL) Sdn Bhd had reported the theft of 1,080 metres of cable along the Temerloh and Lanchang section, and an additional 599 metres in the Lanchang to Bentong stretch, within a period of just two weeks.
The company condemned the theft of the connecting cable on the ECRL alignment from Temerloh to Bentong, saying it has caused serious damage to the rail infrastructure and potentially threatens the completion schedule of this national project.
