KENINGAU: Four individuals, including a woman, suspected of stealing Telekom Malaysia (TM) cables at a roadside bush area along Kampung Mogong-Tangaban in Tambunan, were remanded for four days until March 7, 2026, to assist investigations under Section 431A of the Penal Code.
Keningau District Police Chief Supt Yampil Anak Garai said the suspects comprised three men aged 38, 49, and 29, and a 29-year-old woman, all unemployed.
In the incident at about 2.30am, Tuesday, a police team from the Keningau District Police Headquarters (IPD) conducting surveillance detained one suspect under suspicious circumstances before arresting three other accomplices at separate locations.
Yampil said checks revealed one of the suspects had 16 previous criminal records, including 10 cases related to narcotics, while another was a wanted individual linked to a previous case.
Police also seized 16 items, including rolls of steel cable and tools such as a chain lock, cable cutter, adjustable spanner, iron hammer, and crowbar, as well as a grey Proton Persona believed to have been used in the activity.
Initial investigations found the group was actively stealing underground cables around Tambunan and Keningau by pulling the cables using a vehicle before cutting them with metal tools.
He said the proceeds from the sale of the stolen cables were shared equally among the group members, who targeted underground cables containing solid metal of high value and carried out the activity at night to avoid detection.
