Hardcore criminals running loose

July 3, 2013 MYT 7:31:51 AM

PETALING JAYA: The repeal of the Emergency Ordinance saw some 2,000 detainees being freed. If even a third of them returned to crime, that means there are about 800 hardcore criminals running loose in the country.

Police, however, believe the number could be far bigger.

Most of the youths released from detention under the EO usually return to their old ways, a police officer said.

The assistant superintendent from Perak, who requested anonymity, said that when the EO was in effect, these individuals were kept off the streets.

“As soon as they were off the leash, it was back to breaking the law,” he said in an interview.

This was inevitable as crime is the only livelihood former detainees were accustomed to, he said.

“All they need to do is make a telephone call and they will be ‘hooked up’. Some need not even make that call; they almost immediately get ‘recruited’.”

Add to this situation the seemingly easy availability of firearms all the way from Bukit Kayu Hitam to Johor, and we have a scary scenario on our hands.

With violent snatch thefts, assaults and robberies of restaurant and their patrons, even food outlets are resorting to hiring armed guards to protect them.

Others are keeping their doors locked, only allowing regular patrons into their premises.

The ASP also said many former detainees were capable of anything, even robbing wedding guests at religious premises.

“There have been many such cases when temple weddings were held during the wee hours, an auspicious time for Hindus,” he said.

“Robbers see this as an ‘auspicious’ time, too. It is ideal for them – it’s 5am, it’s dark and there’s no real security.

“Also, they know that women wear jewellery during these functions,” the ASP said.

On why the former detainees escaped prosecution, the source said it was difficult to find incriminating evidence against them.

“Most of them are gang members. To society, they are ruthless and intimidating. Witnesses are not forthcoming; it is hard to gather concrete proof to put the suspects behind bars.”

“Many of them are also either on drugs or are pushers themselves,” another senior police officer said.

He said that while addicts on traditional drugs like ganja and heroin could be sent for rehabilitation programmes, those on amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) like syabu have greater feeling of confidence and were harder to control.

There was also no tailored rehabilitation programmes for this group, who only use the drugs when they set out to commit crimes.

ATS, he said, was the kind of drugs used by kamikaze pilots in World War Two before their suicide dives. ATS users are also likely to end up with mental health problems.

Ex-detainees supply the guns

MALACCA: Some former detainees who were previously banished to Kelantan under the now-repealed Emergency Ordinance (EO) have gone on to become firearm suppliers for local criminals, says a former gangster.

The 40-year-old from Seremban, who requested anonymity, claimed that it was easy for someone to buy a gun by working with former criminals who have links with illegal firearm suppliers in the Malaysian-Thai border town of Sungai Golok.

He revealed that after the EO was abolished in 2011, the former detainees returned to their hometowns and became “runners” for these Thai agents.

The man, who has decided to turn over a new leaf, said only RM10 was needed to smuggle a China-made handgun into the country via Sungai Golok.

“The Thai firearm agents usually offer dirt cheap prices for guns. A semi-automatic handgun was going for only RM300 five years ago.

“Now, I’ve heard the price has dipped further as more second-hand firearms are flooding Sungai Golok and being sold to foreigners,” he added.

The man said such deals were more rampant now as the former EO detainees had good rapport with the Thai agents.

The Thai agents purchase the firearms from Bangkok where hundreds of weaponry stores can be found. The agents would then display the weapons to Malaysian buyers before the deal is concluded.

“The agents only want cash and once the deal is made, they will transport the guns across the border for RM10,” he said.

He said US-made semi-automatic guns were much more expensive and could fetch RM7,500 each.

“Professional hitmen prefer American guns because of their high quality.

“The most popular firearms sold to Malaysians are used Smith & Wesson guns, .45 calibres and pistols like the Colt or Nighthawk,” he said.

The man said bullets were cheap in Thailand and were usually sold at RM1 a piece.

He added that the gunmen were usually hired by those who had business competitors or even in extra-marital affairs.

“A friend who was also involved in gangsterism said many jilted wives had approached him to contact such gunmen,” he said.

Police also agree that the smuggling of guns into Malaysia is rampant – and it’s not just Sungai Golok.

Instead, they say there are more than 200 points along the border used by syndicates to smuggle in guns.

In an earlier interview, then Federal CID director Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin said the lack of enforcement by the authorities at the border areas had made it easy for smugglers.

“It’s difficult to say which routes or methods they use unless we catch them,” said Bakri, who is now the Deputy Inspector-General of Police.

Bakri said in the past, when guns were hard to obtain, gangs might have only one gun, shared among its members.

But lately, police have found that more and more individuals own guns.

Guns for rent are also gaining popularity.

“We found the same guns used in several cases,” he said, adding that contract killings, committed mostly by foreigners, were also worrying.

The foreigners are smuggled into the country, pull off the hit and quickly leave the country, leaving police with little chance of catching them.