Story and pix by Nazleen Najeeb
THE police have started extra patrols in six crime-prone spots as George Town moves to reduce cases of snatch theft.
For a start, 30 personnel from the tourist police unit carry out their duty in police cars, motorcycles and even bicycles from noon to midnight.
“Safety has been our concern and we are gearing up to curb crimes,” said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in a press conference on July 24.
Lim express his gratitude to the Royal Malaysian Police who promised to intensify their efforts to combat theft, robbery and other crimes.
Lim also added that the state government will study the proposal made by Penang police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi of having one-way streets in the heritage area to deter criminals.
Despite the crime index for the period January-June seeing a drop of 7.8% compared to same duration last year, reports show there have been cases of tourists falling victim to snatch thieves and even bogus cops at the heritage area.
Northeast district police chief ACP Mior Faridalathrash Wahid in a recent report said a couple from Hong Kong lost RM6,000 to two culprits who introduced themselves as “police” at the junction of Lebuh Pantai and Jalan Penang on July 6.
“Two snatch thefts also took place in the heritage area in early July that involved foreign tourists,” added Mior.
Thus, the community of Penang needs to do much more in helping the police fight crime in order to create a safer city.