Point of entry: Seah showing the back part of her home in Taman Abad which was used by the robbers to gain entry into her home. Looking on is Chen.
JOHOR BARU: A group of residents are appealing for more police patrols in Taman Abad following a spate of robberies and burglaries in the area.
The residents, mostly elderly people, are worried for their safety as there has been at least 10 robbery and house break-ins in the area in the past few months.
The latest case occurred end of last year when a 57-year-old woman, who woke up, was shocked to find her home ransacked at 9.30am.
The victim Alice Seah Sai Gek said that she was living in fear as her home has been hit more than 10 times since she was living in the area for the past 30 years.
“I have lost at least a total of RM300,000 in valuables in the past,” she said, adding that her friends were also victim of crime.
She was speaking to reporters during a recent press conference organised by Stulang assemblyman Andrew Chen here.
Alice claimed that the suspects usually prised open the back grille before entering her home.
Asked as to why she did not want to move out from the neighbourhood, she said that she was used to living there and she had many friends.
“In fact my son is already asking me to move and live with him in Singapore but I will miss my friends a lot,” she said hoping that the police would increase the patrol in the neighbourhood.
Meanwhile, another housewife as Kok Swee Khing, 72, from Jalan Rusa said that she lost RM150,000 in a burglary last year.
“We were not at home for four days and the suspects broke in from the rood,” she said, adding that the suspects escaped with her gold and jewellery.
In another case housewife Wang Soo Chen, 59, said that her friends were all out exercising several months ago in the neighbourhood when they were approached by some men with iron rods at about 6am.
“They even dragged one of my friends when they tried to snatch her handbag. My friend was so traumatised that she decided to move away to Taman Ungku Tun Aminah in Skudai,” she said.
Coffee shop owner Loh You Chin, 75, said that he too almost became a victim of crime when a man armed with parang tried to follow him into his home in Jalan Musang at 6pm several weeks ago.
“I just returned home and I saw this man trying to climb over the gate holding a parang. Luckily my shouts for help attracted the attention of my son who came running with a wooden stick which caused the suspect to flee,” he added.
He added that robbers were targeting the neighbourhood as it was not gated and guarded with a lot of senior citizens.
Chen meanwhile, urged the police to carry out more patrols in Taman Abad and to also install more close circuit cameras in the neighbourhood.
He urged for more police beat bases should be set up not just in Taman Abad but also in Taman Maju to deter crime.
Meanwhile, an official from the Johor Baru district police headquarters when contacted said that police would intensify patrolling in the area and urged those who spot suspicious people loitering in their neighbourhood to contact the police hotline at 07-221 2999.
