Miri Resort City.com - Crime fighting

22nd September 2008 - Sexual abuse of Penan girls

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:54:03 +0800

MIRI: Sarawak police have called on non-governmental organisations or human rights groups that have information about sexual abuse by timber workers against interior Penan and native girls to lodge official police reports immediately.

State Police Commissioner Datuk Mohmad Salleh said Sarawak police are prepared to launch an immediate investigation into these serious allegations.

“We need official police reports to facilitate an immediate probe. Any NGOs or natives who know of such cases should lodge a report at the nearest police station.

“If there is an official report, we can commence investigations immediately,” he said.

Mohamad said Miri police have told him they had not received any official report on the allegations, adding that he would also check with the police chief in the interior division of Baram.

Mohmad, here on a working visit, was presenting donations to widows and orphans at the Miri police headquarters when asked about allegations circulating in cyberspace concerning the sexual abuse of Penan women by timber workers in interior Baram.

The allegations were highlighted by the Bruno Manser Foundation on its website.

“Sometimes, the problem with NGOs is that they highlight complaints through their websites and the media. They don’t come to us (the police). They should come to us first,” he told a press conference here on Tuesday.

The website claimed that young Penan women in Baram had been sexually abused by timber workers in logging camps and in their settlements.

The foundation, based in Switzerland, is an environmental and human rights grouping set up by environmental activist Bruno Manser, the Swiss who made a name for himself in the 1980s when he organised huge anti-logging protests among the nomadic and semi-nomadic Penans of interior Sarawak.

He went missing in the interior of Sarawak in 2001.

A large part of Baram district, and other parts of interior Sarawak, have been alloted to private consortiums for logging and plantation development. Many of these areas are still populated by indigenous and minority groups, including the Penans.

15th September 2008 - Robbery!

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:12:44 +0800

At about 10am today (15th September 2008), just about less than an hour ago a snatch-and-run occurred from the bank in town center. The 2 snatch thieves ran off on bike, but crashed into a (or possibly several) cars, before fleeing on foot.

One was caught, the other ran away with the money. At this moment, the other one is still on the loose, and is said to be wearing an orange shirt. The stolen cash is said to be RM10K.

This pic was taken just right after the robber was caught.

Please note: most of what was written above were from hearsay from members of the public and some of what I saw myself. This information may not be entirely accurate.

30th August 2008 - Massive sweep against crime, illegals in Miri

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:44:55 +0800

MIRI: More than 400 personnel from the police and other enforcement agencies carried out a massive offensive in northern Sarawak against criminals and illegal immigrants.

The operation headed by the police also involved immigration officials, the army and general operations force personnel.

Miri police chief Asst Comm Jamaluddin Ibrahim said that police stepped up anti-crime operations after Miri registered a sharp jump in the crime index lately.

“We carried out house-to-house searches and found it effective in flushing out crooks.

“We carried out raids in places where we identified our targets.

“Police personnel on foot patrols were deployed in the city to beef up our presence,” he said.

ACP JAmaluddin said that highway patrol units, tourist police and traffic police were used in areas short of staff.

“We searched 625 vehicles, 783 homes and dozens of entertainment outlets and made more than 200 arrests.

“The suspects are believed to be involved in various crimes in and around Miri,” he said after a recent briefing for Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohmad Salleh here.

ACP Jamaluddin said the police wanted to reduce the crime index of 15% to 5% by the end of the year.

He considered the 15% rate as high, noting that it had increased because of difficult economic times faced by certain people, which prompted them to resort to crime.

[ Source ]

My take:

Please keep it that way, not only just because crime skyrocketed. Thank you, Mr. Police.

19th August 2008 - Putting an end to corruption

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:32:45 +0800

MIRI: An unprecedented number of Sarawakians have come forward to lodge reports and to give information to the State Anti-Corruption Agency concerning corrupt practices and irregularities in government departments and private companies here.

More than 800 cases of official reports and tip-offs had already been received throughout Sarawak so far this year, double the number for the whole of last year

Source

Doubled of last year? Assuming for every case that was reported - another 5 were not, that's probably a really high number of cases of corruption going on.

3rd July 2008 - Man and sons held for making firearms

Thu, 3 Jul 2008 17:50:39 +0800

MIRI: A father and his two sons have been detained for manufacturing firearms near the Sarawak-Brunei border.

Police raided their kampung house, located across the Baram River some 35km north of the city, on Tuesday and found an “assembly plant” making shotguns and bullets.

Police seized three shotguns and at least six cartridges and components to make the weapons from the house,

Miri police chief Asst Comm Jamaluddin Ibrahim confirmed the arrests of the father, in his 60s, and the sons, one who is in his 20s and the other in his 30s.

“We want to find out what they were doing with the weapons. We have classified the case as possession of firearms,” he said.

Asked if the family was making shotguns and bullets for sale or for their own use, he said police were investigating all possibilities.

The weapons have been sent for tests.

That's got to be eyebrow-raising.

Rampant crime activities?

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 10:24:59 +0800

Well, I'm not sure what the papers are saying (if they are saying anything worth mentioning at all) but just this morning my parent's friend's office was broken in and his safe and valuables stolen.

They are the exact same friends who accompanied my parents to the police station when my parents' car were stolen. Now they find themselves making the police report themselves with my parents accompanying them to the police station.

What are the chances of two sets of people who know each other having become victims of theft within the span of just a week or so?

Is that coincidental?

I'm putting my finger on rampant crime activity instead.

This is from a Mirians' perspective. Yes, crime activities in Miri are very high. I already see several cars hatchback have their back windscreen broken, probably as a result of a break-in, cars stolen - including that of my parents' - and heard countless tales of other crime incidents not even published in the papers because the newspapers companies are gutless sissies.

With the increases in fuel prices - with Sarawak being affected the worst - crime might worsen.

I don't care what the authorities say, I don't care what the papers are saying, and I don't care what the leaders are saying. We are living in a crime infested city and the people with the powers to do something about it is keeping completely quiet.

18th June 2008 - Malaysian Indigenous People Face Arrest at Logging Blockade

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:17:45 +0800

MIRI, Sarawak, Malaysia, June 17, 2008 (ENS) - A month-long blockade of logging roads by indigenous people in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia set to protest illegal logging on their communal lands is about to be broken up by police.

More than 100 indigenous Kenyah people gathered at the blockade site on the upper Moh River on the island of Borneo claim that the blockade is their only way of calling on representatives of a certain Company and government authorities to have a consultation and meet with them to listen to their problems and demands.

Otherwise, they say, the timber Company will continue to ignore their demands and plights.

Kenyahs blockade a logging road on the Upper Moh River. The banner says, "Do not rob the wealth from the poor people's land and give it to the rich in the city."

According to the Borneo Resources Institute in Miri, which issued a statement today on behalf of the Kenyah peoples, ever since the logging company started its logging operations in the upper Baram area, the indigenous communities have suffered the environmental impacts of logging.

They say the company simply encroached into their communal land and forest areas to carry out logging activities, without any consultation and consideration for their source of livelihood.

The Kenyahs have forwarded some "reasonable demands for social benefits and development of the community as they are the rights stakeholders that should be fairly benefit from forest resources in their area," the Borneo Resources Institute says.

The Kenyah say they resorted to the blockade action after the company and the state forest agency ignored their demands and their rights of access and claims to the benefits of their natural forest resources.

Since the blockade was erected, the company's logging activities have ceased. Hundreds of timber logs that had been felled are stacked up along the sides of the logging road because the Kenyahs have stopped all the logging trucks and other logging machines from entering the area and transporting timber from the area.

The Kenyahs have written a letter to the Sarawak Forestry Corporation, a state government agency, requesting that the agency carry out an urgent physical inspection of all logs that have been illegally felled by the company in the area.

They also called upon the Sarawak Forestry Corporation to stop them from carrying out its operation until all inspection of timber logs has been completed.

Their request has been ignored.

Believing that they have no other alternative and being compelled to bring attention to their plight, the indigenous Kenyahs of Kedaya Telang Usan area in Baram Region have resorted to staging this protest, which is still continuing.

On May 29, upon receiving complaints from the timber company, a group of personnel from the Sarawak Forestry Corporation, went to the blockade site to remove the wooden barricades, but they were restrained from dismantling the blockade.

As a result, the Sarawak Forestry Corporation filed a court action requesting a Warrant of Arrest, which has been granted by the Magistrate Court in Miri.

Police personnel from the Marudi Police Station were ordered to the blockade site to enforce the Warrant of Arrest on June 14. So far, no arrests have taken place.

[ Source ]

Car theft on the rise.

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:05:51 +0800

About 6-8 cars were reported missing last night alone (10th June 2008). Not sure of the exact figures but it was around that.

My parents' car was also stolen.

In fact, we had sort of expected this to occur - this says a lot about the crime problems in Miri. It's not that we think it 'only happens to someone else' but we expected it to occur. Th problem is just 'when'?

Few days back, a friend's friend's Perdana was also stolen, but he was lucky as the police managed to spot it and get it back. It's interesting to know how they stole the cars - they simply drilled through the key hole, open the door and - if the car had a gear shift lock - using a hammer or heavy object, hit it hard enough so the lock mechanism breaks, but makes it drivable.

Steering locks are a deterrent but if they really wanted the car they'd be able to get past it anyhow (looking at the above example, a gearshift lock didn't work).

5th May 2008 - criminologist says Miri can become 'ghost town' if crime not seriously looked into

Tue, 6 May 2008 01:25:12 +0800

CRIMINOLOGIST: Miri can become 'ghost town' if crime not checked

Miri can become a “ghost city” if crime cases are not checked effectively, world renowned forensic scientist and criminologist Dr Henry Lee said today.
Lee said that in his almost 50 years experience in law enforcement and solving crime cases, he had seen cities and even countries collapsing over the failure of the authorities to combat crime.

Stressing that every crime case must be nipped in the bud, he said the authorities must be pro-active in dealing with the situation, no matter how trivial the crime could be.

To be pro-active, the police and local authorities must be able to study crime patterns and trends to guide them to draw effective strategies to curb recurrence of similar crimes, he said when delivering a talk on “Crime and Vandalism” jointly organised by the Miri City Council, Rotary Club of Miri and Miri Anti-Vandalism Committee.

Lee said: “Crime, economy and society are inter-twined. With one billion crimes committed around the world every year, it had caused loss of income, loss of economy and loss of human life. This is a great tragedy.”
On vandalism, Lee said despite being categorised as petty crime, the effect to a city could cause depreciation in property values, higher insurance rates, losses in business confidence and eventually leading to even worse crimes.

Lauding the organisers’ efforts in highlighting vandalism as one of the crimes to be tackled in this city, he also cautioned on the emergence of computer vandalism that had caused great concern in the United States.

Born in China and grew up in Taiwan, Lee first worked for the Taipei Police Department, attaining the rank of Captain.

With his wife, Margaret, who is a Mirian, they moved to the United States in 1965, and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Forensic Science from John Jay College in 1972.

He furthered his studies in biochemistry at the New York University and received his Masters degree in 1974 and a PhD a year later. He also underwent special training at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and at several other law enforcement organisations in the United States.

In 1975, Lee joined University of New Haven where he set up the School of Forensic Sciences that had now become the world’s leading training centre that provides training for law enforcers from throughout the world.

[ Source ]

My take:

Finally, someone who could give some straight answers about the seriousness of the importance of seriously combating crime in Miri instead of sugarcoating it with making public announcements of false sense of security or proclaiming crime reduction 'successes' that don't last long.

Crime skyrockets just as news announces successes in crime reduction?

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 15:13:07 +0800

Robberies are recurring in and around Miri. If the media wouldn't go about gloating about how police "kept Miri Peaceful" a few weeks just before these incidents happen the whole thing wouldn't make the police look so incompetent and silly. But they just had to make press announcements like that.

Of course, just after that announcement, robberies started occurring at an alarming rate. Rampant, even. Almost at a rate of one per day. This is exactly what happened several months back, when the newspapers report crime rates decreasing while the front page reports yet another.... robbery.

Sort of jinxed it, don't you think?

What qualifies as a 'decrease' in crime? One less house robbed? One less car stolen? Or muggings & snatchings or petty theft going unreported? Did they know exactly how many cases go unreported because the people no longer trust the police and feel that it is just a big waste of time? Did they know how awful the response times are that from the police - if they even pick up the distress call?

In Miri, when valuables - or even unvaluables - get stolen, it is as good as lost. Period. You will never see it again. Great if it's insured, not great if it's not.

I've been doing some spring cleaning lately and come across a 1984 issue of National Geographic Magazine reporting on Japan. In it, it says Tokyo - with millions and millions of people living in it at the time, has crime so low and police so efficient (at that time) that when something as simple as a bicycle was stolen, its serial number taken down and was eventually recovered 5 years later. While not exactly fast, but at least they still remembered it after 5 years! In Miri with a population of only 300,000 or so, could not even match this kind of commitment, let alone get anywhere close to it. A bike stolen here is gone for good, unless you yourself do something about it and track it down on your own.

Most people wouldn't bother.

Cable thief electrocuted.

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:43:06 +0800

MIRI: A suspected cable thief died on the spot when he was struck by 11,000 volts of electricity from a substation on the Miri-Kuala Baram coastal highway.

The middle-aged man from Kapit, said to be self-employed and in Miri “in search of a living”, was electrocuted at the foot of an electricity supply pole near the road leading to a coastal village on Sunday afternoon.

Police have classified the case as sudden death caused by electrocution.

[ Source ]

Here's some schadenfreude:

Har har.

He got what he deserved. That's karma for you.

Cable theft cases in Miri were at an all time high about 2-3 years ago, people stealing cable to sell because copper prices were soaring and such cases are still happening. Not only cable are targeted, but anything that is made of metal.

Here's an example of metal thieves trespassing a house and stealing its metal grates, caught on CCTV, and the Halfway Home stripped of its metal parts.

13th April, 2008: Tycoons buying endangered animals as 'status symbols'

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 11:15:49 +0800

Tycoons buying endangered animals as 'status symbols'
MIRI: Powerful towkays in Sarawak cities are paying good money to native trappers to capture endangered animals to put on display in their homes as “status symbols.”

Their demand has resulted in an increasingly active black market in exotic wildlife in certain parts of Sarawak, according to information received by environmental-conservation and native rights group Borneo Resources Institute.
Source

Laws are okay, but enforcement is poor, says UNDP
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has found Sarawak to be “extremely weak” in enforcing laws against cruelty to animals and endangered wildlife.

The laws drawn up by the state government were good but there was something very wrong with the enforcement, said UNDP’s expert in environmental conservation in Sarawak, Dr Alexander Sayok.
Source

The above news is the result of these ones:

Caged sunbear dies

Officers raid sunbear farm, come up empty.

Yes, you incompetent enforcement. You just have to wait 6 months and for the bear to die before taking action, don't you? And conveniently say that the bears mysteriously disappear.

Miri might be a 'rich' place currently, but probably a more suitable phrase would be 'the city of the rich & the eccentric'.

Forum discussion on the matter.

CAUGHT ON VIDEO: MAT REMPIT ACTION

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 22:28:56 +0800

Caught on video. Mat rempit causing a ruckus at the town center, almost knocking traffic and blocking half the roads.

'Mat Rempits' is a Malaysian term for 'an individual who participates in illegal street racing', usually involving underbone motorcycles (colloquially known as Kapcai "Cub子") or scooters. [Source: Wikipedia]

Commonly thought to be only a problem in West Malaysia, these hooligans are becoming more and more of a problem here in East Malaysia as well.

Make sure to watch till the end for the hilarious finale.

!!I've accidentally removed the video from youtube. Please be patient while I find the movie back and upload it again.!!

3rd April, 2008. Halfway home stripped of metal parts

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 15:04:39 +0800

Halfway home stripped of metal parts
By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: Thieves will sink to any depth in their bid to steal high-grade copper wires.

With the high price offered by black-market scrap metal dealers of copper wires, these thieves have targeted even the Miri Halfway Home for Psychiatric Patients.

Previously, they went for overhead wires from shoplots, office blocks and public telephone poles as well as mini-power supply stations.

Their acts caused frequent blackouts and huge financial losses to utility companies.

The halfway home, run by the Miri Mental Health Association and the Northern Sarawak Journalists Association (NSJA), provides shelter for people suffering mild mental illnesses while they undergo rehabilitation and medication.

However, during the past few months, cable thieves have looted the home three times, stripping the centre of all the wires.

This has rendered the place unsafe for occupation and a large sum of money will have to be spent to repair the centre, said NSJA president Lo Kiun Shin.

“These thieves stole not only copper wires, but also the metal parts of furniture and house appliances. Any item with metal parts was vandalised.

“We need to repair the home again before it can be used to accommodate the needy again,” Lo said during the NSJA annual general meeting yesterday.

A police spokesman here said it was difficult for the police to stop the wire thieves because they operated at random and in isolated areas.

The thieves also appeared to have no difficulty dismantling the wires despite their heavy weight and the dangers involved.

High-grade copper wires are in great demand. In the black market, they could easily fetch up to RM250 a kilo.

Last year, the Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation suffered more than RM20 million in losses due to these cable thefts statewide.

Source

4th January 2008 - Robbers re-arrested after manhunt

Fri, 4 Jan 2008 11:14:37 +0800

Robbers re-arrested after manhunt

MIRI: Six Indonesian robbers made a dramatic dash for freedom outside the Miri court complex Thursday but were rearrested two hours later.

Despite being handcuffed in pairs, they overpowered four policemen, scaled a two-metre high fence and dashed towards the city centre as soon as they alighted from the van carrying them to the courthouse at 10am.

Two of them were apprehended after a short chase outside the courthouse, two were caught in the city centre while the remaining two were recaptured in a jungle near Canada Hill.

Miri police chief Asst Comm Jamaluddin Ibrahim said the six were members of the Sambas Gang that terrorised northern Sarawak since early last year.

They are believed to be involved in at least seven robberies, using shotguns and parangs.

ACP Jamaluddin said they would face additional charges now for escaping police custody.

If convicted, he said, they could face a maximum sentence of seven years jail.

For armed robbery, they can be jailed for a maximum 20 years if convicted. The possessions of firearms carry a life sentence.

[ Source ]

Either they have some sort of amazing superpowers to escape while handcuffed, or the security arrangements are too awful.:O

It's the last that gets contradicting. Armed robbery a maximum of only 20 years, and yet possession of firearms carry life sentence?