Everything went wrong for a man when he chanced upon an idea to steal a police vehicle from the compound of the district police headquarters in Hulu Terengganu on Saturday.

No thanks to his audacity and stupidity, the 28-year-old suspect is expected to be slapped with six criminal charges.

They are trespassing; attempted thefts of police and public vehicles; failing to surrender to the police when instructed; damaging public vehicle and drug addiction.

At about 4pm on Saturday, the man scaled the metal perimeter fencing to enter the compound allegedly to steal a police vehicle when he was spotted by several policemen.

Hulu Terengganu police chief DSP Hussin Deraman said as the policemen rushed to apprehend the man, he gave them the slip and ran away.

He said the suspect then turned his attention on a three-tonne truck parked at a road shoulder in Jalan Besar, Kuala Berang, broke into the vehicle and drove it away.

With a police team in pursuit, Hussin said the man drove the truck fast, only for the vehicle to skid and crash, before it fell on its side in Jalan Batu 24.

Having cheated death, the man found himself trapped in the driver’s seat of the badly-damaged truck.

Hussin said the police contacted the Fire and Rescue Department to rescue the injured suspect who was sent to the Hulu Terengganu Hospital where he was warded.

He said initial investigations revealed that the man tested positive for drugs.

- Bernama