Johor Police Chief Wan Ahmad Najmuddin Mohd said the incident took place when a police patrol chanced upon three men in a car acting in a suspicious manner at 1.45pm.

“They ignored the police order to stop and tried to run down the patrol.

“The police shot at the car and hit the suspect who was driving the car. The car careened into the road divider,” he said in a statement here today.

“His accomplices managed to escape into the nearby jungle. An inspection of the car found the dead man, estimated to be aged 27, did not have any identification,” he said.

Wan Ahmad Najmuddin said two parangs and an imitation pistol were found in the car.

Several cellphones and RM1,400 in cash were also found on the dead suspect.

Police believed the group had committed 17 robberies in Johor this year resulting in RM600,000 losses, he added.

– BERNAMA