BUKIT MERTAJAM, Dec 31 — A man involved in armed robberies and who had 16 criminal records was killed in a shootout with police in Machang Bubok early this morning.

Penang Police chief Datuk Khaw Kok Chin said a police team from the Serious Crime Division (D9) noticed a driver behaving suspiciously in a Proton X70 vehicle headed towards Sungai Lembu at about 12.35am

"They instructed the driver to stop, but the man accelerated and fired several shots at them.

"Police then returned fire but the driver sped away. Our team gave chase and the suspect’s vehicle skidded about 200 metres away,” he said when contacted today.

He added that the driver got out and continued firing at the police, who then returned fire, hitting the suspect.

Khaw said the man died at the scene and preliminary investigations revealed that the 44-year-old suspect, residing in Penang, was involved in several robbery cases in the state as well as in Selangor and Melaka and had been arrested for drug-related offences.

He said the suspect, whose vehicle registration number was fake, had also been held under the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 and the Explosives Act (1957) and prosecuted under the Emergency Ordinance. — Bernama