PETALING JAYA, 20 Sept: The police should be serious in curbing the rampant crime of snatch thefts, not busy preventing the entry of an individual’s ashes, said Haniza Talha.
“I urge for the community to pressure the security body to intensify efforts to combat cases of snatch thefts. (And) not wait at the Thailand border to make sure the ashes of the late Chin Peng does not enter the country.
“Instead, be more focused on community safety,” said the Assemblywoman for Taman Medan.
She said this at a press conference on the case of the death of a woman due to theft on 12 September here at Taman Sri Manja yesterday.
On 12 September, Go Lee Koon, 27, a bank agent, had her handbag snatched by two men on a motorcycle near Sri Manja Court around 9pm.
The victim who tried to avoid from having her handbag snatched suffered head injuries when her head was hit by the road divider and rushed to the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).
However, the victim died after being five days in a coma due to serious bleeding in the brain.
At the press conference, the Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Selatan, Hee Loy Sian, wants the police to be more serious in controlling crime as snatch theft is becoming more rampant.
“People are afraid to go out, especially at night, fearing for their lives and safety. The police need to act quickly,” he said.
He renewed calls to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) to approve the proposal to add more members of the auxiliary police in Petaling Jaya to fight crime.
“It is true that the MOHA approved the auxiliary police for the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), but it is limited to guarding MBPJ buildings only.
“We do not just want the auxiliary police to guard buildings, we want approval to allow for them to help the police protect the security of residents,” he said.
The victim’s father, Go Hong Zhen, 65, hopes that the police take his family’s case seriously so that the same incident does not recur.
“I accept (the death of his daughter) with an open heart. I cannot change this fate. However, I hope that the police would look after other people’s lives so that it does not happen to anyone else,” he said.
He said that snatch theft cases are not isolated cases, but cases such as this occur every day at Taman Sri Manja.
“Residents are in fear. Today, my daughter fell victim and died. What about tomorrow, or the day after? How would the fate of other residents be?” he said in tears.