GEORGE TOWN: A car dealer died in a showroom in Jalan Mesjid Negri here after robbers torched the place and drove off with eight luxury vehicles worth about RM2mil.

The Fire and Rescue Department found Lim Sooi Huah, 41, in the backroom of the Rahman Brothers car showroom at 5.30am yesterday.

It is believed that at least eight robbers were involved. They set fire to the double-storey bungalow before making off with a Mercedes Benz CLS, a Toyota Caldina, three Toyota Alphards and three BMWs worth between RM190,000 and RM450,000 each.

Police recovered all eight stolen cars around 6pm yesterday following a tip-off.

OCPD Asst Comm Azam Abd Hamid said a Nepalese guard at the showroom had also been detained to facilitate investigations.

Factory van driver Raja Rafizi Umran, 28, from Batu Maung, was on his way to fetch passengers in Teluk Bahang for work at 4am when he noticed the blaze.

"I stopped to check and heard a man shouting for help," said Raja Rafizi when met at the scene.

"I tried to run inside but it was too hot."

Another witness, who declined to be named, said he had stopped by the shop with a friend at 3am and suspected something amiss as the premises was all lit up.

"The gates were open and I noticed someone sitting inside a Toyota Estima. I then drove off with my friend to Gurney Drive. I drove by the dealership an hour later and saw it on fire."

ACP Azam said police believe Lim was either lured to the showroom by his assailants who posed as prospective buyers or was forced there from his house in Lip Sin Garden.

"The robbery was quite well planned as the hard drive for the compound's five CCTV cameras was destroyed in the fire. We have classified the case as murder.

"I urge residents in the area to contact district CID chief DSP Sharifuddin Abdullah (04-2181822 ext 1825), ASP Ibrahim Hussain (ext 1830) or the Rakan COP hotline (04-2691999) if they had seen anything suspicious," he said.