MELAKA: Eighteen workers, including three women, from two construction companies, have been arrested for trying to sell stolen scaffolding to a third party.
Melaka police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Abdul Majid Mohd Ali said police detained 18 individuals including three women, aged from 19 to 61 who attempted to make a fortune by disposing of the scaffolding materials to a third party.
“The total scaffolding materials that were found missing totalled RM1.4mil.
“One of the construction companies based in Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur lodged a report after discovering some 335 tonnes of the materials were missing during a recent audit session,” he said during a press conference at Jasin police headquarters here on Thursday (May 20).
DCP Abdul Majid said the scaffolding was used for a construction project at Sungai Udang here in 2019.
He said the company conducted an audit upon the completion of the project before discovering a large quantity of the material had gone missing.
Following the police report, DCP Abdul Majid said the Melaka Commercial Investigation Department set up a task force before recovering 250 tonnes of the materials worth RM900,000 in two separate raids at Gebeng, Pahang and Paka, Terengganu.
He said his men are now tracing the remaining materials and the mastermind, who had been identified.
DCP Abdul Majid added the case is being investigated under the Penal Code for the criminal breach of trust and all the suspects had been remanded.
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