KUALA NERUS: A task force to prevent break-ins and theft of mosque funds statewide has been set up by the police force here throughout the Ramadan month.
Terengganu police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mazli Mazlan said that the effort was made through collaboration with the Department of National Unity and Integration and the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation.
He said that the reactivation of the voluntary patrol scheme (SRS) and neighbourhood watch area will help the police patrol to curb crime and guarantee the residents’ safety, Bernama reported.
“Thus far, three cases of theft of mosque funds have been reported in Terengganu, namely in the districts of Kuala Nerus, Kuala Terengganu and Marang. The total loss has not yet been ascertained, but some of the suspects have been arrested.
“The perpetrators are targeting mosques which receive a large amount of donations during the month of Ramadan,” he said when met by reporters after officiating the state-level Royal Malaysia Police Patrol and SRS programmes here on Friday night.He added that the special team will conduct patrols, mainly at night, while day patrols will be carried out through the 1 Mosque, 1 Policeman programme.
Meanwhile, DCP Mazli said that police have allowed the sale of 42 types of firecrackers in the state thus far but rejected several applications from traders. He claimed that the police, along with enforcement officers from the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN), are monitoring vendors who sell fireworks and firecrackers without a permit in the Ramadan bazaars.
