The Uncle Thieves

I always believed criminals had a certain look.
Probably drug addicts, scrawny with mean, dour faces. Probably young, in their 20s. Probably people you never want to meet in a dark alley.
Then all my stereotypes of crooks flew out of the window when I was sent this Youtube video of two Chinese uncles robbing a house in broad daylight in Pantai Jerejak near Queensbay Mall. I have friends living in Pantai Jerejak (and last year one of them told me her house got broken in but luckily nothing was stolen but she quickly installed additional grilles and locks after the incident).
The fact that it is so close to home can shatter one’s sense of security!
I am sure the next time you see a couple of Chinese uncles sipping kopi-o in a coffeeshop, you’ll be wondering if they’re part-time crooks and robbers too.
But that is what you read and hear in the newspapers.
Last year, while having dinner at a coffee shop in Pantai Jerejak, Nic and I also witnessed a snatch theft. It was about 9pm and two snatch thefts came along on a motorbike to snatch an old lady’s handbag.
The poor woman was dragged on the road for about 10 meters before her screams alerted everyone who ran out of the coffee shop to help. The two men quickly rode off but not before the police patrol car gave chase.
Well-meaning but futile. A patrol car cannot outchase a small kapchai bike which can zip between cars and disappear into the many roads around this residential area.
The old lady was terribly shaken, her clothes torn and her body bruised. Her granddaughter of about 10 years old started crying, shocked by what she saw happen to her grandmother!
But the high incidence of snatch thefts happening around Queensbay Mall, Pantai Jerejak and Sungai Nibong area is terribly unnerving. I tweeted this to Sim Tze Tzin, the ADUN for Pantai Jerejak. He told me that he’d tell the OCPD. I hope something gets done because all these thefts make residents feel unsafe and vulnerable.
I once saw policemen on superbikes whizzing around Pulau Tikus and I thought, what a great idea. (Pulau Tikus is another notorious area for snatch thefts so be careful when you walk about this suburb.) Policemen dressed in regular clothes with flourescent green jackets on superbikes will out chase thieves on the kapchai bikes.
Something must be done about these daring small-time crooks. Well, I wished we had CSI’s Photoshop version 10 (that’s what Nic always says) as CSI people can always zoom into a video and solve a crime within the day. If we had CSI’s Photoshop version 10, then we would be able to see these 2 uncle’s faces clearly and post their mugs on coffee shops everywhere! I bet then the police will be able to catch them!
So do your part and forward this video link to all your friends, especially Penangites. The more people watch this video, the better as the crooks will not have a chance to rob another house!