A thief was beaten to death by an angry mob in Selangor as public anger surged following two recent deaths caused by motorcycle-borne thieves, a police official said today.

The 28-year-old thief, had earlier snatched a handbag while riding on a motorcycle from a woman near a restaurant, Zulkifli Bashir, Klang district deputy police chief said.

Some half a dozen people who witnessed the incident managed to catch the suspect and attacked him, he said.

"She shouted for help and some bystanders immediately responded and gave chase. They caught the suspect and beat him up," Zulkifli told AFP .

Zulkifli said the suspect sustained serious injuries and was rushed to hospital but died without regaining consciousness, he said.

Police are investigating the death of the snatch thief and have termed it as murder.

"Based on the injuries sustained by the 28-year-old, we believe he may have been attacked using blunt objects," he said.

"Although the bystanders may have helped the woman in good faith, they overstepped their boundaries and inflicted serious injuries on him," he said adding that police were hoping to detain those who attacked the suspect.

Unfortunate victims

Mob violence is rare among Malaysians. But recent deadly attacks by motorcycle muggers had sparked public outrage in Malaysia. Police have declared war on muggers in major cities following the deaths of two women.

In the latest incident, a 37-year-old mother-of-two was killed when thieves on a moving motorcycle grabbed the backpack she was carrying in the southern city of Johor Baru on Sunday, smashing her onto the road.

Her death came just 23 days after another young woman died from head injuries inflicted in a similar snatch. Police say they will treat the incidents as murder.

The roads of Malaysia's cities are choked with motorcycles, masking both the approach and the getaway of the thieves, and a total of six people have died in such attacks since 1999, local media reported. - AFP