Beware of snatch thieves in a car

Thursday October 31, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR: A couple of snatch thieves were in a car trying to catch their victim offguard.

In the incident, a woman was walking past the car which was waiting at an intersection when a man in the front passenger seat suddenly opened the door and tried to snatch her gold chain.

She put up a struggle and managed to fend off her attacker who ducked back into the car and sped off.

The incident, which happened in Desa Aman Puri, Kepong at about 12.30pm on Tuesday, was recorded by another motorist who had a camera mounted on the dashboard of his car.

Lim Kwee Han, the motorist, submitted a copy of the video to the Malaysian Crime Awareness Campaign (MCAC).

The MCAC uses its Facebook page to propagate crime awareness. Started about a year ago, it has some 60,000 likes.

The footage can be viewed at mob.com.my, the Metro Online Broadcast portal which offers news written by the public.

An official from the Sri Damansara police station said no report was lodged over the incident yet, and urged the victim to come forward.

Armed guard robs jewellery outlet in Setapak

Thursday October 31, 2013 

PETALING JAYA: An armed security guard robbed a jewellery outlet at the KL Festival City Mall in Setapak near here Thursday.

The robbery occurred around 9am and a police source said the suspect was identified as a Sabahan but is believed to hold a fake identity card.

The security guard, who had been on the job for less than two months, had pointed a pistol at the store owner and escaped with a tray of jewellery around 9am.

City deputy CID chief Asst Comm Khairy Ahrasa said the owner and the three staff in were getting ready to open the store at the time.

"They had read about what happened at the bank and quickly gave him a tray of jewellery out of fear," he said.

The guard, still in his uniform, took the tray and casually walked out of the mall.

"It happened so fast that no one, apart from the staff from the store, knew what had happened," he said, adding that police are still checking the value of the stolen jewellery.

Police are also checking if the pistol used in the robbery was issued to him by his security firm or was privately owned.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said that it was possible that this security guard was a copycat robber.

"It is possible that this security guard got the idea from the security guard from AmBank.

"I also do not rule out more cases involving security guards robbing their employers," he said.

He urged all security companies to check their personnel thoroughly.

"If there is any doubt or red flags raised, please contact the police and we will help you," he said.

Khalid added that police are also paying closer attention to security guards now and random checks are ongoing nationwide.

When contacted, the security firm that hired the guard said he was identified as a Sabahan in his IC, but declined to comment if they performed any vetting on him or whether he was licensed to carry a firearm.

On Oct 23, a security guard shot dead bank officer Norazita Abu Talib after she opened the strongroom of an AmBank branch in Subang Jaya.

The guard escaped with about RM450,000 from the vault.

Police managed to recover about RM20,000 after arresting three of the suspect's family members. A manhunt has been launched for the guard.

It was reported that the man had a fake Malaysian IC stating that he was from Tawau, Sabah.