Ipoh police said the men decided to rob a 24-hour convenience store to enable them to join a secret society known as the “Kok Wai Gang”.

Unfortunately for them, their bravado proved short-lived when police caught them on the same day of the offence.

Ipoh police chief ACP Sum Chang Keong said the four men, aged 16 to 26 years, were arrested about 4.30pm on Feb 12 in separate raids in the city, following their robbery at the store in Bercham at 2am.

He said initial investigations revealed they had committed the crime to enable them to join the secret society.

“During the robbery, two of the men armed with parang stole cigarettes, worth RM446, before fleeing in a Proton Iswara car.”

Police investigations led to their arrests and the seizure of various items, including mobile phones, eight boxes of cigarettes, seven parang and a Proton Iswara.

The four suspects have been remanded until Saturday to facilitate investigations.

In a separate case, Sum said police had solved five cases of car break-ins around the city with the arrest of two men, aged 25 and 26, in Jalan Laksamana, Pekan Baru here about 3am, also on Sunday (Feb 12).

“Policemen, who were patrolling the area, saw a man holding a flashlight and approaching a car. Another man was waiting in a Perodua Viva.

“Realising the police presence, the men tried to escape but their car was intercepted by the police car,” he said, adding that police seized a bunch of keys and a screwdriver.