A 42-YEAR-old Chinese national, who allegedly went on a car snatching spree at knifepoint around the Ashaiman area, has been arrested by night police patrol team. The suspect, Chen Shicai, allegedly committed the crime at about 3:00am last Wednesday and was arrested by the patrol team when he tried snatching a second taxi from its owner.

DCOP Maxwell Atigane, the Tema Regional Police Commander, told DAILY GUIDE yesterday that at about 3:00am on that fateful dawn, the suspect, Chen Shicai, stopped a taxi driver, George Kodua, who was driving a Kia Pride with registration number GE 1923 X around the Tema Community 9 roundabout. The suspect, according to the regional commander, immediately after getting on board, suddenly pulled out a short butcher’s machete and tried to attack the cabbie.

Out of fear, the cabbie allegedly abandoned the taxi and took to his heel. The Chinese man reportedly took over the taxi and was said to have driven it from that point towards the Ashaiman overhead bridge when he had an accident.
He reportedly got down and walked to the Ashaiman Engen filling station where he tried to snatch another taxi from its unnamed owner.

The driver of the second taxi, an Opel Vectra with registration number GE 6992 V, resisted the suspect. It was during the scuffle with the suspect that the police night patrol team arrived at the scene. On seeing the patrol team, Chen Shicai reportedly took to his heels with the knife in his hand, but he was given a hot chase and arrested, a few metres away.

He was said to have told the police that he arrived in the country three days ago and had been lodging in a hotel in Tema, whose name and location he could not remember. That was, however, found to be a lie as investigation conducted revealed otherwise.

DCOP Atigane said the suspect after investigation would be charged with the offence after which he would be put before a law court. He failed in his suicide bid when he was quickly stopped by some police detectives who paraded him before the regional commander. Soon after walking him out of the commander’s office, Shicai reportedly tried jumping from the corridor of the office of the police boss, but he was grabbed and whisked away into police custody.