[LINK] ArsTechnica: 'Crawl the Web with your fingers'

[Kim Holburn]

On 2006 Oct 11, at 5:31 PM, Kim Holburn wrote:
> 2) Mercedes and Malaysia?  I read this story a while ago about an  
> owner of a new Mercedes with a fingerprint scanner who got car- 
> jacked.  The robbers, when they discovered the car wouldn't work  
> without it's owner's fingerprint, removed said fingerprint (and  
> finger as I recall).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4396831.stm

> Last Updated: Thursday, 31 March, 2005, 10:37 GMT 11:37 UK
> E-mail this to a friend 	Printable version
> Malaysia car thieves steal finger
> By Jonathan Kent
> BBC News, Kuala Lumpur
>
> Police in Malaysia are hunting for members of a violent gang who  
> chopped off a car owner's finger to get round the vehicle's hi-tech  
> security system.
>
> The car, a Mercedes S-class, was protected by a fingerprint  
> recognition system.
>
> Accountant K Kumaran's ordeal began when he was run down by four  
> men in a small car as he was about to get into his Mercedes in a  
> Kuala Lumpur suburb.
>
> The gang, armed with long machetes, demanded the keys to his car.
>
> It is worth around $75,000 second-hand on the local market, where  
> prices are high because of import duties.
>
> Stripped naked
>
> The attackers forced Mr Kumaran to put his finger on the security  
> panel to start the vehicle, bundled him into the back seat and  
> drove off.
>
> But having stripped the car, the thieves became frustrated when  
> they wanted to restart it. They found they again could not bypass  
> the immobiliser, which needs the owner's fingerprint to disarm it.
>
> They stripped Mr Kumaran naked and left him by the side of the road  
> - but not before cutting off the end of his index finger with a  
> machete.
>
> Police believe the gang is responsible for a series of thefts in  
> the area.


--
Kim Holburn
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