BY BARINA NANI
ASAJAYA: Owners leaving their second homes unoccupied is among the factors that contributed to break-in cases in Samarahan.
Samarahan district police chief DSP Sudirman Kram said most of the crime reports received from the community were related to property theft.
According to him, theft was the main crime because most in Kota Samarahan involved the second homes of owners.
“The occupants or owners of these houses have other houses in other areas, such as Kuching, Padawan and Serian.
“When a house is left empty, it becomes a target for criminals,” he said after attending the Asajaya District community policing programme at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Hajah Laila Taib Hall today.
He added that apart from the theft of property in urban housing, theft in villages was the highest crime in Kota Samarahan, especially crop theft.
“This does not involve huge losses but it is often reported and the crop theft are related to drug addiction, where most drug addicts are unemployed and have no income.
“To get their fix, they steal crops from the villagers. However, this does not involve a large syndicate because it only involves ordinary people who do not have a job.”
In a related matter, Sudirman said that the community provided good cooperation in helping to channel information to the police.
“Through programmes like this, the police can share with the community on the latest crime trends.
“We can also share community roles in helping to reduce crime in their respective residential areas, besides revealing a few laws related to actions that can be taken by the community before the police make a re-arrest.”
