TAWAU: Police have arrested a 30-year-old local labourer suspected of outraging the modesty of a housewife in Kampung Inderasabah earlier this week.
Tawau District Police Chief ACP Jasmin Hussin said preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect had trespassed into the woman’s home and allegedly threatened her with a knife.
“The suspect was arrested by the District Criminal Investigation Division (BSJD) at around 1.30pm, and a 27-centimetre knife was seized in the same village,” he said on Friday.
The incident occurred at about 2am last Monday while the housewife and her two daughters were asleep.
She woke to find someone touching her thigh. Shocked, she panicked as the man allegedly threatened her not to scream while pointing a knife at her.
Her screams woke her daughters, and her husband, who was in another room, rushed in.
The suspect then fled through the back of the house. The husband, in his 40s, later lodged a police report.
The suspect is now in police custody, and investigations are being conducted under Sections 353 and 506 of the Penal Code.
A background check revealed he has no previous criminal record.
“We will not compromise in cases where suspects trespass into homes and commit such acts that endanger community safety,” Jasmin said.
