STS : Mahathir orders crackdown on crime
Yap Yok Foo
27 June 2003
Mahathir orders crackdown on crime
Stiffer penalties and faster prosecution being looked at; shopping
malls to boost security after high-profile murder in KL
By Brendan Pereira
KUALA LUMPUR - Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has ordered a tougher
crackdown to curb rising crime in Malaysia, underlining his concern
that the country could suffer dearly if its reputation as a safe
country was punctured.
The Straits Times understands that the directive was issued at the
weekly Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
The authorities are now looking at whether punishment for offences
needs to be stiffened and are examining ways to speed up the
prosecution of suspects.
At the same Cabinet meeting, the Mahathir administration also issued a
directive to all shopping complexes to increase security.
The government is considering fitting closed-circuit televisions in
pedestrian malls and underground tunnels in the city to deter crime.
These concerns follow a high-profile abduction and murder from a
shopping centre in an upscale neighbourhood in Kuala Lumpur, a case
that has become a hot topic of conversation and another piece of
evidence for those who argue that the general crime situation has
worsened.
Mrs Canny Ong was abducted from the basement carpark of the Bangsar
shopping complex.
Four days later, police discovered the charred remains of the
28-year-old IT analyst who had returned from the United States to
visit her sick father.
She was believed to have been raped and brutally murdered before her
body was torched. The police arrested a 27-year-old cleaning
supervisor in connection with the case but have yet to charge him.
It is difficult to say conclusively if crime is on the rise here
because figures for the first half of the year have not been released.
But anecdotal evidence suggests a rising trend in violent crime such
as murder and rape.
A columnist with The Star daily wrote on Tuesday about a spate of rape
cases and added: 'These incidents get reported because they are
serious offences but cases of car theft, muggings and burglary
probably go unreported because the victims do not want to go through
the hassle of making police reports when the chances of recovering
their goods are low.
'Malaysians have a right to ask what the police are doing about the
recent spate of crimes.'
The lack of numbers is hampering the fight against crime. For
instance, there is one policeman for every 3,000 residents in the
middle-class suburb of Petaling Jaya, whereas the ratio is about one
officer to every 250 residents in many developed countries.
Police are trying to fill a shortfall of 23,000 officers.
The crime index was an issue in Parliament yesterday.
Women MPs from the government and opposition issued a statement urging
the police to declare war on crime.
Datuk Napsiah Omar, a ruling coalition MP, noted that the victims of
rape, abduction and robbery were predominantly women.
'If these cases are not curbed immediately, all of us may become
victims,' she said.
Recent victims of robbery, snatch theft and burglary included a
minister, seven deputy ministers, five MPs, five state executive
councillors and nine state representatives.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/
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DigitalFreak
Fay Angela D’cruz
PETALING JAYA, June 26: Abduction and murder victim Canny Ong Lay Kian
will always be remembered as a person who put her loved ones’
needs before her own. This is how the marketing analyst, who would
have been 29 on July 18, was described by her sisters Elsie, 23, and
Lee Shian, 21.
"Her husband (Brendon Ong) had wanted to buy her a birthday present
(when they were in San Diego, United States) but she had told him that
she did not really need anything at the time and instead had asked if
they could just send money to her father," Elsie said.
Elsie added that Canny had also done the same on her previous
birthday.
"She always gave everything to the family. She even supported me
financially for my advanced diploma course when I told her I had to
discontinue my studies due to financial constraints," Elsie said.
Canny had scored eight As for her Sijil Rendah Pelajaran examination
and had always been a top student.
"She always excelled in everything she did," both sisters said.
Canny also held a black belt in taekwando and represented her high
school in squash.
This made it difficult for Elsie and Lee Shian to understand why their
sister never put up a fight when she was abducted. "She was a
fighter," Elsie said.
Elsie also said that Brendon loved Canny so much and that he would
always make sure she was safe.
"On the night of my sister's abduction, Brendon had called me from the
US at midnight just to speak to my sister." At that time Canny had
already been abducted, but Brendon was not told about it yet.
Elsie said Brendon first met Canny about four years ago and had fallen
in love with her almost immediately. They were married in 2000.
Canny had told her sisters of her plans to bring her whole family to
the US.
"Although all three of us lived separately, we never failed to
communicate via the phone or Internet," Elsie said, adding that last
year she and Lee Shian had a memorable time when they visited Canny in
the US.
Elsie said Canny always took pains to get the family together and had
even set up a website named "Blood is thicker than water" which mainly
featured photographs and information on the family.
"She also loved the US very much and had found Kuala Lumpur to be
unsafe." Canny was supposed to have returned to the US on June 14
morning.
"Our sister is a funny, witty, compassionate, kind and caring person
and we will always love her very much for taking care of us whenever
we needed anything," Elsie said.
As for Brendon, the sisters said he had pledged that he would always
regard them as sisters though Canny is not around anymore.
Brendon, met at the funeral parlour in Jalan Gasing where his wife's
body was, said he had dyed his hair blonde as Canny had always wanted
him to do so.
"This is the wish I want to grant her and I hope that she is looking
down at me now," Brendon said.
Brendon was seen with Wayne Viswanathan, Canny's cousin, who has been
by his side ever since he arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
Also present at the funeral parlour were Canny's parents Ong Lee Jeng,
Pearly Viswanathan and Brendon's father Sunny Ong.
Wayne said that he wanted to be a source of strength for Brendon.
"We are very close and I am saddened by Canny's death. I had met her
in the US only last month." More family members and friends have
arrived from overseas for the funeral, scheduled for 4pm tomorrow.
(C) New Straits Times (M) Berhad
Ed. note: I think some of us can probably understand now why she loved
USA very much for more reasons than one.
wts5409
> From The Straits Times, Singapore
> 27 June 2003
>
> Mahathir orders crackdown on crime
> Stiffer penalties and faster prosecution being looked at; shopping
> malls to boost security after high-profile murder in KL
>
hypothetical quick fix.