A grave security concern

Sometimes I wonder - do potential criminals actually believe that our police force are so ineffective that they can easily get away with their crimes in Malaysia?

Or worse, if caught, they can just as easily walk away with a light sentence due to the inefficiency of our justice system?

Think about it.

Crimes, petty and dangerous, have risen at an alarming rate all over Malaysia. Snatch thieves seem to be all over the place, maiming and killing their victims without batting an eyelid.

A robber who breaks into your home is not just interested in relieving you of your valuables, he is now more likely to rape the female members of your family or even kill you to protect his identity.

All these incidents and more which are making the people of Malaysia feeling less safe and secure is making a mockery of the progress we have achieved close to 50 years after Merdeka.

This latest incident of a college student alleging she was nearly raped and killed by a security guard hired by her college within the grounds of her campus is most shocking and alarming. (The SUN, 26 April 2007)

Now, every female college student has additional cause for concern when moving around within their campus grounds.

Is it SEMUA OK when public safety is no longer a top priority in achieving VISION 2020?

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'Like being in the jaws of death'
TARC student recalls ordeal of rape attempt
Charles Ramendran

KUALA LUMPUR (April 25, 2007): The security firm that hired an 18-year-old guard who attempted to rape an accountancy student in Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TARC) last Saturday (April 21) should have its licence suspended.

KL Gerakan assistant secretary K. K. Supramaniam today urged the Internal Security Ministry to suspend the security firm's licence for hiring such an "underaged" and inexperienced guard.

Supramaniam made the call in a press confrence in the Gerakan headquarters in Ulu Pudu where the 18-year-old victim related her ordeal which she described as being "in the jaws of death".

"I was taking a sip from a cooler when I was hit in the head from behind. When I turned, he hit me again with the stone.

"He hit me repeatedly and dragged me back into the hall (where she had just completed her examination at 5.30pm). I was stripped and he started fondling my private parts. He then pulled down his pants and when he failed to make a penetration, he started to strangle me with a shirt.

"I thought I was dying as blood oozed from my head. He fled when the lights were switched on (by another guard on patrol). I picked myself up and ran but I bumped into a classmate (Ng Szeyi) who alerted the security," she said.

The assailant, who continued to patrol the campus as if nothing had happened, was then nabbed by his colleagues and handed over to the police an hour after the attack.

"It's such a painful and frightening experience. I am thankful to be (still) alive today but I do not know what kind of future I have. I am too terrified to return to campus," said the first year accountancy student.

The victim's father, a blacksmith from Jinjang, said: "I am very disappointed with TARC's officials who had not made any effort to enquire about my daughter's condition except for two telephone calls.

"It's a shocking incident to happen in campus grounds. Worse still, the crime was committed by a security guard it hired. TARC needs to give some explanation for its breach in security," he added.

TARC's student affairs department could not be reached for comments.