SIBU: Sibu Hospital now has a new police booth, courtesy of Pansar Bhd and Bluescope Lysaght.
Sibu Hospital director Dr Ngian Hie Ung yesterday handed over the key to the booth to Sibu police chief, ACP Shafie Ismail, witnessed by Pansar managing director Jason Tai.
Speaking at the occasion, Shafie said the booth would serve as a feeder to provide information on crime cases to the police station.
He said for a start, the booth would be manned by one policeman at any one time.
He expressed confidence that the presence of a policeman there would curtail the number of vehicle theft in the vicinity.
Though the booth is not a place for people to lodge a police report, he said the people could always inform the police there should they know of any crime occurring in the area.
“Maybe one day we will accept reports,” he added.
He described the community project as a smart partnership between the police and the hospital.
He said he was shocked to find out that there hasn’t been any police booth at the hospital premises.
“I believe there was in the early days but had to close due to lack of manpower. With the booth, a policeman would be there round-the-clock,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Ngian said there were 124 cases reported to One-Stop-Crisis-Centre in 2011.
Of the cases, 82 per cent involved physical injuries and 13 per cent were rape cases.
In 2012, the centre recorded 184 cases – 19 per cent involved rapes and 79 per cent involved physical injuries.
“We have recorded 33 cases in the first quarter of this year – 27 per cent of them rape cases and 73 per cent physical abuse,” she said.