SANDAKAN: The people of Sandakan are infuriated and worried over the increasing incidences of snatch theft crime, with some causing fatalities.
Shirley Chien Moi Yin, Parti Warisan Sabah assistant coordinator for Batu Sapi, said snatch thieves had once again made their presence felt in Bandar Kim Fung market yesterday.
She said there have been many reports of snatch theft incidents in Sandakan recently which are becoming rampant and a cause for worry for the residents here.
“The snatch thieves seemed to have become more and more daring lately despite Sandakan being a peaceful town. We would normally hear of this kind of snatch theft crime happening in West Malaysia but now it appears that this sickening crime has landed on our shores,” she said in a statement yesterday.
According to her, police statistics on these crimes also indicate an upward trend and it is a growing problem in the whole of Malaysia now.
“There have been many talks and discussions as to how we can prevent ourselves from falling victim to such crime. I would therefore urge the police to take the necessary measures to deal with the rising crime rate in Sandakan and, at the same time, initiate a study to get to the root of the problem as to why more and more people are resorting to this despicable crime,” Shirley said.
She noted that mostly the blame falls on the drug addicts, poorly educated youth, culprits from broken families, lack of moral and religious knowledge and the list goes on, and agree that most of the reasons given are very true indeed.
“The recent incident in Bandar Kim Fung has prompted me to analyse the one factor that might contribute to the rampant snatch theft incidents.
“I am more inclined to believe that the poor economic situation in Sandakan has driven the person or persons to resorting to this despicable crime.
“Unemployment is also a known factor that motivates people to resort to this crime as an easy means to survive, which is very unfortunate.
“Perhaps, it is high time for the government to embark on an in-depth study on the cause of the problem. For me, the economic well-being is one factor that can play a pivotal role in reducing crime in Sandakan and Malaysia as a whole. I would therefore like to see our government being more proactive in improving our economic well-being and tackling the problem head-on,” Shirley said.