Police shot dead a factory worker after he ran amok at the company’s premises here yesterday. — Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri

GEORGE TOWN, Sept 24 — A quality control inspector with a multinational factory was shot dead by police after running amok at the company’s premises here yesterday.

The 25-year-old man had also tried to attack the police while armed with two parangs before he was shot by officers from Bayan Baru who were responding to calls about the incident at 4.45pm yesterday.

“When at the scene, they tried to placate him but he ran after the officers while brandishing two parang so they shot him where he collapsed on the spot,” said southwest district police chief Supt AA Anbalagan.

The police recovered the two blood-stained parangs near the suspect’s body and later found a knife on him.

According to the police, the suspect went to the warehouse of the factory yesterday afternoon and suddenly started slashing another quality control inspector.

The 48-year-old woman was slashed on her head, neck and arms before the factory’s safety director heard the commotion and tried to intervene.

The 53-year-old safety director was also slashed on his arms before the police arrived.

“Both victims were immediately sent to the hospital but the first victim succumbed to her injuries at about 8pm at the hospital,” Anbalagan said.

The second victim is in a stable condition, he added.

Both the victim and the suspect’s bodies have been sent to the Forensics Department at the Penang Hospital for a post-mortem today.

“The suspect has been working in the factory for about two years, the first victim has been working there for 19 years and the second victim for about two years,” he said.

He said initial investigations revealed that the unmarried suspect was believed to be depressed, often alone in his room and did not interact with his colleagues.