KUCHING: Security at the Lachau town near Sri Aman is still good and under control with only one crime case reported so far this year.
The case, Sri Aman police chief DSP Sulaiman Othman disclosed in a press statement on Thursday, involved theft of three bags of black pepper.
“In 2016, there were nine cases reported and four have been settled. From information we obtained, these crimes were carried out by locals,” he said.
Influx of immigrants from Indonesia began since the 1940s, he explained, while the Indonesians who entered Lachau town were mainly from the community living in areas along the Indonesia-Malaysia border.
“The reasons to enter Lachau are to sell their agriculture produce and also to buy basic or daily necessities,” he added.
Police have identified a few ‘jalan tikus’(illegal paths) in Lachau namely the Selepong Lop, Gua Dungut and Rapak Lachau.
Based on aerial and ground surveillance, Sulaiman disclosed that there were a number of Indonesian military control posts in the vicinity with the Sungai Keli post being the closest – about a three-hour walk away from Gua Dungat in Lachau.
“Meanwhile, there is no official report received yet regarding Indonesia military infiltration to Lachau town or to Sri Aman,” he assured the public.
Sulaiman also said Sarawak commissioner of police Datuk Mazlan Mansor had conducted a working visit to check the illegal paths and survey the situation in Lachau town on March 7 this year.
Mazlan was accompanied by deputy police commissioner Datuk Abdul Aziz Yusof, state General Operations Force (GOF) deputy commander ACP Zulkifli Jonit and state Special Branch officer-in-charge SAC Suhaimi Deraman.
“As a result from the visit, Datuk Mazlan has instructed Sarawak GOF to put some of the GOF sections at Lachau police post to patrol the illegal paths that have been identified and conduct roadblocks in Lachau,” he said.
“The GOF have commenced their operations at Lachau police post on April 1 this year. The police will not hesitate to take legal actions should they discover Indonesian army infiltration into Lachau areas or Sri Aman to ensure that the security and safety of the people in these areas and its surrounding,” he emphasised.
Police also advised the residents of Lachau to come forward with information of such cases or should they sense any uneasiness with the presence of Indonesian immigrants in town.