JB thief makes off with S'porean's Volkswagen
Mr Lee shows how he was working on the battery while the thief entered his car. MALAYSIA - He drove to Malaysia, looking forward to an enjoyable fishing trip with his friends. But his plans fell through when someone stole his Volkswagen GTI right in front of his eyes outside a Johor Baru 7-Eleven convenience store.
The car owner, Singaporean Lee Chee Peng, 41, and his two friends were following their usual routine.
The contractor told The New Paper on Tuesday: "We go fishing there about once every two months."
After eating, they would visit the nearby 7-Eleven convenience store to get refreshments for their trip.
It was no exception this time.
They parked their cars side by side facing the store at about 4.45am on Sunday.
After buying their drinks and loading them into the icebox, they got ready to drive off.
First sign of trouble
It was then that Mr Lee realised he had trouble starting his car.
He said: "I realised that the battery was flat. I was thinking, 'This is disastrous, my trip is over'.
When he told his friend, Mr David Poh, 45, a fellow contractor, about his predicament, Mr Poh brought out jumper cables from his boot. ] The two men lifted their car bonnets and tried jump starting Mr Lee's car.
Meanwhile, their other friend went to the toilet.
As Mr Lee and Mr Poh were trying to get the Volkswagen's engine to start, Mr Lee noticed a Toyota Alphard driving into the empty parking lot to the right of his vehicle.
He said: "There were two men inside. The driver looked to be in his 40s, and the passenger, in his 30s."
Mr Lee didn't take much notice of them and continued cranking his car.
After some minutes, the engine started.
He got out of his car and closed the door without locking it, leaving the key in the ignition.
He then removed the cables from the battery and passed them to Mr Poh, who headed back to his car to keep them.
Said Mr Lee: "My bonnet was up, so it was obstructing my view. I had a shock when I closed it. Someone was in the front seat."
He was staring into the eyes of the passenger from the Toyota.
The man immediately looked down and clutched the gear shift.
Said Mr Lee: "I didn't even hear him enter my vehicle. Those guys were pros."
Instinctively, he shouted: "Hey, that's my car!" and ran towards the driver's door.
But the man immediately drove off, nearly running over Mr Lee in the process.
Mr Lee then got into Mr Poh's car and a high-speed car chase ensued.
He said: "My friend was driving like crazy, he was really stretching the car. It was the most horrifying ride of my life."
Said Mr Poh: "We were driving at more than 130kmh. It was like a scene straight out of a movie."
The pair chased the man on a straight road, even beating many red lights in the process, but it was futile.
The GTI proved too fast for Mr Poh's Honda Civic.
Said Mr Lee: "Whatever I did to my car was working against me.
"It was really a sinking feeling, watching your car pull away until you can't even see the tail lights."
After about 10 minutes, Mr Lee and Mr Poh headed back to the 7-Eleven to meet their puzzled friend, who had missed the whole incident.
Mr Lee then made a police report at Johor Baru Central before returning to Singapore and making another report at a neighbourhood police station.
The New Paper could not contact the Malaysian police, but was shown a copy of the Malaysian police report.
Besides losing his car, which cost more than $90,000, Mr Lee also lost his fishing equipment, which amounted to about $3,000.
But he was grateful that he had not been hurt.
He said: "I was stupid to dash in front of my car as the man wouldn't care if he injured me. I could have been knocked over by my own vehicle."
He added that he didn't harbour high hopes of seeing his car again.
He said: "How could I let them snatch it from right under my nose?"
Mr Lee said the incident has put him off driving to Malaysia.
"I'm never driving there again. I'll think really hard about ever visiting Malaysia again," he said.
"It's just too dangerous."
AsiaOne
Mr Lee shows how he was working on the battery while the thief entered his car. MALAYSIA - He drove to Malaysia, looking forward to an enjoyable fishing trip with his friends. But his plans fell through when someone stole his Volkswagen GTI right in front of his eyes outside a Johor Baru 7-Eleven convenience store.
The car owner, Singaporean Lee Chee Peng, 41, and his two friends were following their usual routine.
The contractor told The New Paper on Tuesday: "We go fishing there about once every two months."
After eating, they would visit the nearby 7-Eleven convenience store to get refreshments for their trip.
It was no exception this time.
They parked their cars side by side facing the store at about 4.45am on Sunday.
After buying their drinks and loading them into the icebox, they got ready to drive off.
First sign of trouble
It was then that Mr Lee realised he had trouble starting his car.
He said: "I realised that the battery was flat. I was thinking, 'This is disastrous, my trip is over'.
When he told his friend, Mr David Poh, 45, a fellow contractor, about his predicament, Mr Poh brought out jumper cables from his boot. ] The two men lifted their car bonnets and tried jump starting Mr Lee's car.
Meanwhile, their other friend went to the toilet.
As Mr Lee and Mr Poh were trying to get the Volkswagen's engine to start, Mr Lee noticed a Toyota Alphard driving into the empty parking lot to the right of his vehicle.
He said: "There were two men inside. The driver looked to be in his 40s, and the passenger, in his 30s."
Mr Lee didn't take much notice of them and continued cranking his car.
After some minutes, the engine started.
He got out of his car and closed the door without locking it, leaving the key in the ignition.
He then removed the cables from the battery and passed them to Mr Poh, who headed back to his car to keep them.
Said Mr Lee: "My bonnet was up, so it was obstructing my view. I had a shock when I closed it. Someone was in the front seat."
He was staring into the eyes of the passenger from the Toyota.
The man immediately looked down and clutched the gear shift.
Said Mr Lee: "I didn't even hear him enter my vehicle. Those guys were pros."
Instinctively, he shouted: "Hey, that's my car!" and ran towards the driver's door.
But the man immediately drove off, nearly running over Mr Lee in the process.
Mr Lee then got into Mr Poh's car and a high-speed car chase ensued.
He said: "My friend was driving like crazy, he was really stretching the car. It was the most horrifying ride of my life."
Said Mr Poh: "We were driving at more than 130kmh. It was like a scene straight out of a movie."
The pair chased the man on a straight road, even beating many red lights in the process, but it was futile.
The GTI proved too fast for Mr Poh's Honda Civic.
Said Mr Lee: "Whatever I did to my car was working against me.
"It was really a sinking feeling, watching your car pull away until you can't even see the tail lights."
After about 10 minutes, Mr Lee and Mr Poh headed back to the 7-Eleven to meet their puzzled friend, who had missed the whole incident.
Mr Lee then made a police report at Johor Baru Central before returning to Singapore and making another report at a neighbourhood police station.
The New Paper could not contact the Malaysian police, but was shown a copy of the Malaysian police report.
Besides losing his car, which cost more than $90,000, Mr Lee also lost his fishing equipment, which amounted to about $3,000.
But he was grateful that he had not been hurt.
He said: "I was stupid to dash in front of my car as the man wouldn't care if he injured me. I could have been knocked over by my own vehicle."
He added that he didn't harbour high hopes of seeing his car again.
He said: "How could I let them snatch it from right under my nose?"
Mr Lee said the incident has put him off driving to Malaysia.
"I'm never driving there again. I'll think really hard about ever visiting Malaysia again," he said.
"It's just too dangerous."
AsiaOne
