Man who allegedly failed to return car arrested by police after 400m chase

SINGAPORE — Police officers chased down and arrested a 29-year-old man who had fled after allegedly failing to return a rental car on March 30.

Responding to queries, the police said they received a call for assistance along Lorong 3 Geylang at 1.05pm.

When police officers arrived at the location, the suspect fled on foot but was later detained by officers and arrested over suspected drug offences, possessing an offensive weapon and fraudulent possession of property.

An eyewitness who spoke to Chinese news outlet Shin Min Daily News said the suspect ran for around 400m before police officers caught up and pinned him to the ground.

The eyewitness said: "The suspect, who had blond hair, was standing next to a car surrounded by several other men and women.

"Afterwards, a police car stopped and the blond man ran away. Two police officers immediately got out of the car and chased him. During this period, another police car was patrolling back and forth."

According to Shin Min, the suspect was found by employees of a car rental company after the suspect failed to return a car. The employees then called the police.

Shin Min reported that after the man was arrested, the police searched and purportedly found a knife in the suspect's backpack.

The police deployed its K-9 unit to search the rental vehicle, with the entire investigation at the scene taking around three hours.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.