Senior citizen died trying to save new car in carjacking

KOTA KINABALU - A businessman died after he was dragged for several metres while hanging on to his brand new car during a carjacking outside his house in Luyang here.

Peng Shih Cheng, 65, died at the scene some 25 metres from his house at Taman Golden City. He had tried to stop the thief from driving away with his Toyota Vigo car at about 10am Sunday by hanging on to the door.

Kota Kinabalu police chief Asst Comm Jauteh Dikun said Peng had returned home from breakfast and left the car engine running to open the gate of his house.

The suspect jumped into the car and started to reverse it to drive away.

Peng ran back to the car and grabbed at one of the doors but the suspect continued to drive. He lost his grip and fell on the road.

"We believe the thief was headed towards Penampang (gateway to south western Beaufort and interior Keningau).

"All police districts have been alerted and road blocks have been set up," he told reporters.

He urged public with any information on the brand new white Toyota Vigo with licence plate SAB8182T to inform the police immediately.

"We believe that only one person is involved and it might have been a crime of opportunity as the engine was running," he said, adding that police were also looking at other aspects.

Peng, who has three grown up children and a wife, left the house alone at about 6.30am for breakfast and returned around 10am.

Distraught family members were seen sitting around his body by the roadside after paramedics pronounced him dead.

By Muguntan Vanar