A POLICEMAN suffered serious head injuries after being slashed by a man trying to escape a roadblock inspection at Lengkok Angsana, Air Itam, George Town, last night. 

Penang top cop Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said in the 11.30pm incident, a team was manning a roadblock in front of the Bandar Baru police station when a man on a motorcycle suddenly turned around when he saw the cops. 

“The station chief ordered two policemen to follow the 33-year-old and they managed to stop him about 150m from the roadblock.

“However, the suspect suddenly took a meat cleaver on the front table of a terraced house in the area before attacking a lance corporal by slashing him,” he told reporters after visiting the injured cop today.

The injured policeman is in stable condition at Penang Hospital. 

Shuhaily said an inspection under the seat of the suspect’s motorcycle revealed 30 small packets believed to contain 210g of heroin and a wallet belonging to the suspect.

Police managed to arrest the man at the Angsana flat area in Air Itam at 3.30am today and seized a knife believed to be used by the suspect in the incident.

“The man has four drug-related criminal records and a urine test found him positive for drugs. Police are not ruling out the possibility that the suspect ran away from the roadblock because he was carrying drugs for sale,” Shuhaily said. – Bernama, March 1, 2023.