Schoolgirl abducted and rapedAmidst the current hottest news about Rafidah and APs that everyone is talking about, this news may appear to be not such a big deal. This is not the first time we have news on abduction and rape, and it wasn't as serious (no killing involved) as the cases that we've had before, so why am i so concerned? Why am i writing about an old issue that no one even bothers to talk about anymore? Well, i do have my own opinion on the APs issue but it wouldn't bother me that much as compared to such social news. After all, i'm just an ordinary person with worries of smaller scale.
The girl and her younger brother were waiting for their school bus in front of a petrol station near their Taman Bukit Indah home about 6.45am, when several men stepped out of a white Proton Wira and grabbed them.
Johor CID chief Sen Asst Comm (I) Datuk Rahim Jaafar said the girl was dragged into the car but the boy managed to escape.
"There were five men in the car which was driven towards Taman Selesa, where another accomplice was waiting."
"They dragged the girl into the nearby bushes and two of them took turns to rape her," he said when contacted.
The men then fled the scene. SAC Rahim said the girl walked to the road where a passer-by took her to the Skudai police station.
"The girl has been sent to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital where she is being treated for trauma," he added.
SAC Rahim said the Johor Baru police have launched a hunt for the suspects, who are believed to be in their 20s and early 30s.
Those with information can call the Johor Baru police headquarters at 07-5561 222 or any police station.
Source: the star online
I live in the housing estate just beside Taman Bukit Indah, where this crime took place. Just about last year, there was this case (in the Taman where i live) about a girl being abducted right in front of her house and she was drugged and couldn't remember what happened. Actually there has always been news about snatch theft and robbery around the neighbourhood. I think the residents have heard and read so much about such crimes that everyone has become somewhat immune to it already; you will just hear people say, "Aiyo, another one ah... sigh!"
This sign can be seen in Taman Bukit Indah along the main roads. Where was the so-called pasuakan keselamatan when the crime took place?
It's like a vicious cycle that whenever there is a high profile crime, we would start talking and even protesting. Remember the flutter over the snatch theft last year? After the fire dies off, we just forget about it until the next one happens again. People had protested about it and demanded our government to strengthen the public security. Whatever that should have been said had already been said in news commentary and on the Web. I don't wanna sound negative but i really don't know if this is an area that we can ever improve on.
I read from the newspaper a few weeks back about the crime rate in Malaysia. Johor Bahru is the city with the highest number of crimes per year, and that was only based on reported cases. We all know that many crimes went unreported. I really felt ashamed sometimes that the place where i was born and brought up is thought of as the city of crime. Whenever i talked to my Singaporean colleagues about JB, they would ask me about the terrible public security that seemed to be getting out of hand, as if this is the only thing that makes the city so unique. Many people may say that it's actually not that bad and it's just S'pore newspaper that is sensationalizing the whole thing... or is it really?
About 5 or 6 years ago on the 2nd day of Chinese New Year, a thief climbed over the gate of our house, broke the window of mom's car and stole her purse. Yes, it was really careless of mom to leave the purse in the car, but the car was parked in the carport of our house, with walls and gate surrounding it. It never crossed her mind that the car was not secured even though it was within the walls of our house and the gate was locked.
The next day, mom went to the police station to make a report. After knowing that she didn't incur any huge losses and her IC was still with her, the police officer dissuaded my mom from filing a report. He told her that it would be very troublesome to go through the process of reporting a crime and it was not worth her time in doing so when there wasn't any big losses. Seeing that the police officer was so reluctant to help her, she didn't make the report in the end. Of course, she did learn her lesson and doesn't leave her purse in the car anymore.
About 2 years ago, my uncle used to drive a second-hand Mercedes-Benz E-Class. He became a target of robbery probably because of his expensive car. One early morning when uncle was about to open the gate of his shop, a robber put a dagger to uncle's back, threatening him to give up his valuables and car key. Uncle used to be a truck driver and has great strength. He took the robber by surprised by pushing him with all his might and shouted loudly for help. As this incident happened at the shop lot and there was a kopitiam just around the corner, the robber was afraid of getting caught so he fled. Uncle was lucky that the robber might have been a first-timer and thus not as ruthless. Imagine it was a ferocious robber; uncle might have been stabbed. Anyway, he sold his Mercedes after this incident and now drives a Toyota.
Many years have passed since those incidents, but are we getting any smarter or safer? Last year, 贝 has a friend who had his DVD player and LCD screen stolen from his Proton Wira (the thief broke the window of his car). Early this year, he changed his car to Toyota Wish and the whole car was stolen just last week. Both incidents happened right in front of the gate of his girlfriend's house in JB town. He said he would buy a low-risk car -- a Honda Accord. He thinks that Toyota cars are targeted more often than Honda, which i don't think so. Nowadays, regardless of where you park your car or what car you drive, crime may happen to you in different forms anywhere, even at your own home.
There are also cases of break-in, robbery with assault and even shooting that had happened to people whom i know personally. If i were to relate all these real incidents, i think i may end up writing a thesis. I think i've even become paranoid about my safety and that of my family. I don't really go out on my own without someone accompanying. Even if i'm with someone, i would feel insecure walking along or crossing the streets. I always hold my wallet/purse/bag closed to me and whenever there's a vehicle approaching, i would be wondering if it's gonna snatch my bag. Sometimes even when i'm in my home, i would be looking out for people driving around the neighbourhood, or listening hard to any strange noise coming from outside the door.
When i was little (that would be about 25 years ago), whenever i was bullied by other kids, i would just run home and hide in my bed under the blanket. It always gave me a sense of security. As people always say, home is a place where we know that we are protected and safe. Home is a place where we go back to after facing all the evils at the outside world. But now, we can't even put our mind at ease when we are at home. Then is home still a home if it's no longer a place where we can feel safe from all harm?
