In the last three weeks, at least four houses have been broken into in Taman Tun Dr Ismail. In one case, a maid was found murdered in the house.
This topic is pretty hot among residents in this neighbourhood. They are so fearful of being the next victim.
Really. It is a case of "it can happen to you".
Consider this -- about three weeks ago, my friend, Mia, came face to face with one of two intruders at her home.
She had gone to fetch her daughter from school, the duration of which was about 20 minutes. When they returned home, they were shocked when they noticed two men in their house.
On hearing them, the men rushed out. One fled through the broken side door and jumped over the neighbour's wall, while the other brushed past them, out of the gate. Both got into a waiting car.
Mia immediately lodged a police report. But how odd that the policeman kept asking her whether she was really really sure about wanting to make a report.
She told me she was at first a little puzzled by this. Then she got a little irritated.
"Was he reluctant to take my report? Of course I was sure about wanting to make the report, for heaven's sake...Two men had broken into my house. The only reason they were not able to take off with my belongings was that they had no time to do that as I had come home a little too soon.
"That's the least of my worry.... I am just so thankful that neither I nor my daughter was hurt," she told me.
That same afternoon, in a house just down the road, a maid was found murdered.
Mia now lives in fear. And she is not alone.
In her case. the perpetrators were "foreign-looking". She noticed that they were young, perhaps in their 20s, and looked middle-eastern or South American. That kind of physical appearance.
These days, I always check the front door to make sure it is locked, and the gate, to make sure it is closed.
And, oh....every time I leave the house, I am on the look-out for "strange" cars and even stranger characters lurking near my house.
I think I have become paranoid.
15 comments:
Nuraina,
I remember a long long time ago reading a story in the papers about your dad's house being broken into. The tone was rather funny and I still laugh everytime I told the story. Your dad said the thief actually ate something from the kitchen/fridge. That is one of the most unforgettable piece I have read in a Malaysian newspaper ;-)
Don't mean to make light of your fear - this post just reminded me of that!
Cheers,
Lisa
I clicked publish too fast. I meant to say that in those days, they took something from the fridge/kitchena nd we think it's cute and now they took Life and the police still question if we want to make a police report...
Please arm yourself with two bottles of pepper spray. They hurt you when they are in panic. Stay calm and try to conquer your fear. Easier said than done on my part. Think of your counter-attack and rehearse.
dear nuraina,
it's not only in ttdi, subang jaya is the same too.
a friend lost her car parked outside her gate in broad daylight.
she went to report, and know what the police told her?
' kak, hilang kereta sekarang macam hilang kasut kat mesjid! '
imagined, to be thrown such remark when your crv is taken away!
what,s happening to our civil minders?
dear nuraina,
it's not only in ttdi, subang jaya is the same too.
a friend lost her car parked outside her gate in broad daylight.
she went to report, and know what the police told her?
' kak, hilang kereta sekarang macam hilang kasut kat mesjid! '
imagined, to be thrown such remark when your crv is taken away!
what,s happening to our civil minders?
you are not being paranoid Nuraina, that feeling is justified with all the happening around us....
when we came home, we saw someone had broken into our home, things were all over the place, things of a value gone and worst, small little trinkets which hold sentimental to us like our mum's rings and earrings gone...
the heart pounding but when we realized that we supposedly be thankful we were not hurt, we felt relieved but after awhile when cleaning up the mess we felt a sudden rage came to us...angry that our privacy had been vandalized and even angrier at the police with their lackadaisical attitude ...
been there once ...
These robbers are more than likely to be Pakis/Kashmiris who have overstayed illegally. They are penniless.
They visit upmarket homes to offer grass-cutting services. They survey homes particularly with single parents.They will tell you sob stories to get your kesian, then ask you for a glss of water. When you go to the kitchen to get the water, they have a good look at the inside of your house. This is anew phenominon in our mids. The safest thing is to mow your own lawn yourself.
Valisa and Nuraina,
For me, it's interesting to note that these volume criminals have helped themselves to food.
I could imagine how frightened your friend must be.
One night we came home just after dinner to witness a man unlocking our front gate. 2 other men were waiting in a Honda Accord.
They didn't even budge when we stopped our car in front of the house. At first we thought they were our friends from out-stationed. Then we realised these men looked unfamiliar and unfriendly. We were so afraid for our lives that we dared not make a move or step out of the car. Finally they took off in a haste. Thank God none of us was harm and till this day this incident still haunts me. We felt violated and unsafe. When we made our police report, another family was also there. They were not so lucky. Their house was ransacked.
Ena, I think it's time to bring back the rukun tetangga.
Yah, I can relate to that! It is very scary and till today I dare not leave my teenager daughter alone at home.
It is not the valuables and what have you at home.. it is life at stake that is scary.....
I'm paranoid too since I live not too far from where the maid was murdered - I saw the crowd and wondered what was up. I had a bad experience a few years ago when a thief broke in at about 3.00am and took my handbag and the keys to the car and drove off. The handbag & car keys were in the living room downstairs and luckily he did not go anywhere else in the house.
I then turned to technology and installed alarms which triggered on vibration (doors & windows), heat (roof) and infrared (stairs). I never really felt 100% safe but the alarm makes me feel better.
You know, I have a pepper spray in my handbag and after the murder, I am seriously thinking of buying the electric shock thingy at the DIY shop in DU. It's like the Taser that the cops in overseas have but you have to get close enough to use it. Maybe we should spray the pepper at the perpetrators first and then when they are busy rubbing their eyes, we zap them with the Taser - that works! Of course, this assumes that we do not panic and throw the pepper spray at them (instead of spraying) and then forget when we put the Taser...
Take care Nuraina.
Well, what can I say, welcome to the club. Even with alarms installed people do take chances and try breaking into my home in Bangi.
We moved out for our own peace of mind.
And yeah, the cops don't give a hoot about such things.
Been there too.
Anon 8:53
I'm afraid I have to disagree. Data has shown that majority of the volume crime (and also many other types of crimes such as B&E, sex-related and etc) are committed by locals. Immigrants are responsible for a small percentage overall.
Your comment also, unfortunately, reeks of discrimination (Pakis??!).
Dear kak,
Being paranoid is not half as bad as being ill-prepared.
Do take care
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