Suria KLCC valet car theft: How an Apple AirTag saved the day
KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — A recent car theft incident at Suria KLCC’s valet parking went viral over the past few days not only because of its location but also how quickly it was solved. As it turns out, the major reason why the stolen car was managed to be found in the first was an Apple AirTag.
Suria KLCC confirmed that a vehicle was stolen from its valet service but the suspect has since been found and apprehended by police. — Picture courtesy of Facebook/Zach Khai Shin
The incident happened in broad daylight
The incident first caught the attention of the netizens when the owner of the stolen Honda HRV, Zach Khai Shin published a post on his Facebook page at 2.14pm Sunday. In the post, there was a picture of his key and valet ticket, proving that the thief managed to drive off with his car even when the original key was not with the car.
In the post, he mentioned that the HRV already made its way to the Subang area according to the “GPS tracker” that he had put in the car. At this time, he has yet to reveal that the tracker was actually an AirTag.
Almost eight hours later, Suria KLCC published a statement saying that the suspect was apprehended with the “help” of its CCTV footage and “the car’s GPS system”. However, Zach then published a new post at 10.19pm on Monday which provided a new perspective on the incident including how the Suria KLCC management actually played very little role towards the discovery of the car at that time.
In the new post, Zach revealed that he enlisted the help of his friends to follow the trail left by the AirTag in his car while he was busy filing the police report of the incident. They eventually found the car at a private premise and have also learned from the security personnel of the building that the suspect was extremely uncooperative when he entered the car park.
Interestingly enough, they also found out that the suspect was still in the area. A call was made to 999 and within 10 minutes or so, police arrived in the building and arrested the suspect.
In the same post, Zach also said that the police had advised him not to disclose any updates regarding the incident immediately after the car had been found. He also said that he didn’t want the thief to know there was an AirTag in his car which is why he originally called the tracking device a “GPS tracker”.
He also criticised the Suria KLCC management team who he felt wasn’t proactive enough during the incident but at the same time applauded the swift work done by PDRM. In a separate comment, Zach has since revealed that Suria KLCC management eventually had a proper meet-up with him yesterday and it seemed that both parties are working to amicably resolve the matter.
How much Apple AirTag currently costs in Malaysia?
The Apple AirTag that was launched in 2021. — SoyaCincau pic
Originally launched in April 2021, the AirTag was made available in Malaysia a month later. Despite being a 3-year-old product, the digital tracker currently costs RM149 per piece or RM499 for a pack of 4 which is much higher than its original launch price of RM129 and RM459, respectively.
To utilise the AirTag, you need an Apple device that can support it such as 7th gen iPod Touch, iPhone SE, iPhone 6s or newer iPhones with iOS 14.5 or later. The tracker can also be used with iPad Pro, iPad 5th gen, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4 or newer iPad models with at least iPadOS 14.5 installed. — SoyaCincau
