Kuala Lumpur  - Malaysian police arrested two men after the trailer that they had hijacked crashed into three cars as they attempted a hasty escape, news reports said Sunday.

The suspects - three locals - had allegedly pulled up beside the trailer in a white van Saturday morning in Kuala Lumpur and threatened the driver and his assistant with machetes after they had stopped by the roadside to relieve themselves.

Two of the suspects, ages 21 and 30, then boarded and drove off with the trailer, laden with soap-making materials worth thousands of ringgit, while the third man escaped in their van, the Star daily reported.

The owner of the trailer, alerted by the lorry driver, informed police who spotted the stolen vehicle about 30 minutes later and followed the trailer in hot pursuit, deputy district police chief Sulaiman Salleh said.

After being chased for more than 1 kilometre, the hijackers lost control of the vehicle and crashed into three cars and a signpost before the came to rest on its side. (dpa)