The thieves had turned the hotel car park into their "storage area" and were bringing a customer to view a stolen vehicle when they realised they had walked into an ambush.
The thieves had earlier tried to steal another vehicle in the car park, but had to abandon the car when police moved in.
The drama began in the morning when hotel staff discovered a road tax disc on the floor.
Checks revealed the road tax disc belonged to a Toyota Hilux, which had been stolen on Saturday.
They traced the owner and contacted him.
"I went to the hotel car park on the basement floor and saw a vehicle which resembled mine.
"However, the road tax disc and registration plates were different," said the owner.
"I tried using my car keys to open the car door and it worked. I felt something was amiss and alerted the authorities," the owner said, adding that he had lodged a police report over his stolen vehicle on Saturday.
A team from the Selangor police headquarters arrived at the scene and they realised that the thieves had parked the stolen Hilux there while waiting for the buyer to collect it.
A police official said that at about 2pm, three men in a Toyota Camry entered the car park and began driving around.
The first time they passed the waiting police team, there were three men in the vehicle.
"The second time round, there were two men in the Camry as one of them had got off to steal a new Toyota Altis, which was also in the car park."
When the thieves in the Camry circled the Hilux a second time, the police team moved in, and on seeing them, the thieves in the Camry slammed in the reverse gear and floored the accelerator.
As they attempted to turn the vehicle around, another police car blocked off their escape route.
The Camry then rammed into the police car, forcing the policemen to fire two warning shots.
The Camry, however, sped off and exited from the hotel car park. Meanwhile, the other thief in the Altis abandoned the vehicle near a fire exit and escaped on foot.
Petaling Jaya police chief Assistant Commissioner Arjunaidi Mohamad confirmed the incident, saying police were trying to track down the Camry, which had heavily tinted windows.
Three car thieves managed to escape a police ambush by ramming a police car in a drama-filled afternoon at the car park of a hotel here.
The ambush was set up when the hotel staff came across a Toyota Hilux earlier in the morning which they suspected was stolen.
An ambush was set by a team of Selangor police as it was believed that the thieves had parked the car there to wait for a buyer.
Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Arjunaidi Mohamed said police spotted three men in a heavily-tinted Toyota Camry entering the area and circling the car park suspiciously.
The suspects panicked when they saw the cops and tried to reverse but a police car had blocked their way.
ACP Arjunaidi said the thieves rammed the police car and managed to escape, forcing the policemen to fire two shots.
Source : STAR AsiaOne
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