THE killing of two British students at Jalan Abell on Aug 6 came as a big shock to the peace-loving residents of Kuching, leaving many nervous over how such a terrible crime could have happened in their city, touted as one of the safest in the country.
The students who were on a two-month practical training at the Sarawak General Hospital, were found dead with stab wounds in their chest and back near the crime scene.
The duo from Newcastle University, UK, and due to return home the next day after completing their placement assignments, were believed to have been involved in an alcohol-fuelled altercation with a group of men at a public eatery.
Both parties were said to have confronted each other and the suspects allegedly attacked the students with sharp weapons.
The suspects – five altogether – have been remanded in police custody to facilitate investigation into the case under Section 302 of the Penal Code and have also been produced in court.
Apart from this high-profile case, mainly because it involved foreign nationals, there are others that did not make the headlines but have left many feeling no less apprehensive. It begs the question: Is the State Capital really as safe as claimed?
Worthy of mention are three cases reported by the media over the past seven days.
Just at midweek in a near midnight incident, a man suffered bruises to the head when he was forced into a car, then assaulted and robbed.
The victim was returning home on a motorcycle after work when two men in a car stopped him not far from his house at Seng Goon Garden.
After accusing the victim of stealing the motorcycle he was riding, one of the men started beating him with a piece of wood before grabbing RM200 from his wallet, dumping him on the roadside and driving off.
In an earlier incident on Monday, a driver and his passenger were also assaulted by a group of men at Jalan Santubong.
The victims were on their way home from Damai Central in the early hours of the morning when a car rammed into theirs at the Kampung Rampangi junction.
The driver pulled up and disembarked, thinking it was an accident but two men from the other car got out and beat him up.
Shortly after, a group of men, said to be armed with parang, turned up and began assaulting the driver. The passenger who tried to stop the fighting was beaten up until “she lost consciousness.” The victims’ car was also smashed up.
Both victims were sent to the Sarawak General Hospital.
The assailants’ brutish behaviour that smacked of mob mentality, is unnerving. It shows there are people who think nothing of taking the law into their own hands instead of resolving misunderstandings in a non-violent manner.
Surely, this is not the culture of Sarawakians and people with such lawless deportment should be strictly dealt with by the law.
In a third rather bizarre incident, a jobless Bintawa man who attempted to extort motorists by “staging fake accidents” was arrested on Monday after his shenanigans were exposed by a viral posting in Facebook.
The suspect was said to have falsely accused his victims of knocking into his car and demanding to be compensated in cash.
He claimed his car had, indeed, been hit by some motorists and though admitting to asking for monetary compensation, he denied extorting or issuing threats.
The suspect returned positive for amphetamine in a urine test conducted by police. His impounded car (a maroon Perdua Kenari) has no road tax.
Other Facebook users also claimed he had previously “barged into shops at Mile 3 and Hui Sing Garden and demanded money from terrified female employees.”
Although no reports had been made over the “fake accident” case, the police should be commended for acting proactively (on the Facebook posting) to catch the culprit in the public interest.
The suspect was detained following his arrest, and will also be charged in connection with another case for which he was arrested.
In a separate incident on Friday night, the window glass panels of a minister’s house in Sibu were damaged by shotgun fire. No one was hurt – and police have launched a full investigation.
The disquieting thing about crime nowadays is that robberies, snatch thefts, house break-ins and even drive-by shootings are being brazenly committed. It shows criminals are becoming more blatant in defying the law.
The police have been battling a negative public perception of being lax in checking crime. But in all fairness, theirs is a huge responsibility that includes, among others, a delicate balance between enforcing the law and maintaining public rapport. It is a fine line to walk.
Generally, the police have made progress in fighting crime. This much must be acknowledged. But there is always room for further improvement.
Law-abiding citizens can play their part by acting as the eyes and ears of the law in accord with the motto – zero tolerance for crime.
Through such concerted efforts, there is every reason to believe the crime rate will be further reduced and the city made safer to work and live in.