Kidnapping & Abduction : Pakatan & Police Take Note

I think I will be starting a new 'column' titled Kidnapping & Abduction. There are so many kidnappings and abductions in the country everyday. 

I hope the Inspector General of Police will take note.

Well there has been another abduction. Here is The Star

• Teacher found and is in ICU
• missing in Bandar Kinrara 2  
• in serious condition.
• found by passers-by at 11am on Wednesday at the Talam oil palm estate in Kuala Selangor.
• suspects were being tracked down .
• CCTV footage from a bank in Bandar Kinrara, from where Teoh had withdrawn RM1,600, showed four men standing beside her.
• left her home in a navy blue Proton Saga at around 7am on Wednesday .

First of all I hope the victim recovers from her injuries and the trauma the soonest. And the family as well. 

Folks, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur are fast becoming like Mexico City or the Phillipines where there is about a kidnapping a day. I suspect there is a reason for this and I have alluded to it before. 

The Nayati kidnapping was not the last one either. There has been a kidnapping reported almost everyday in the papers. This case involving the teacher in Kinrara 2 (and over RM1,600 only) is just another example.

I see a difference between the Nayati case and this one. I believe in the Nayati case the kidnappers targeted the boy and they asked for substantial amounts of money. In this case, I believe the abductors just wanted to grab anyone withdrawing money at the ATM. 

N'theless both cases involved abducting people and causing harm and injury or threatening to cause harm and injury.   These cases are spiking since last year, especially in Selangor and KL (which is part and parcel of Selangor too).

Some time ago I wrote about the mushrooming of massage parlours and beauty salons in Selangor under the Pakatan gomen which we all know are too often fronts for vice and prostitution.   The mushrooming massage parlours have become a real problem in Selangor with spillover effects into KL.  There is a manicure place in Bangsar. Late at night (after 11:00 pm) skimpily clad girls hang out in front of the place and smile at potential male customers. A midnite manicure? 

I warned in my earlier Blog about the massage parlours in Selangor that they will give rise to other problems. I think these kidnappings and abductions are a byproduct. 

The increase in massage parlours (or opium dens, illegal betting, illegal fishing, illegal money lending, illegal VCDs - anything that is illegal)  will give rise to the presence of many bad hats and criminals in our community.  But it is the massage parlours that have exploded in Selangor.

The massage parlours come with their "support services" - the bosses or taikors who fund the joints, the pimps who run the place and the bouncers or bodyguards who provide security for everyone. All three are criminals.  (I dont like picking on the girls - they are 'slaves', victims of trafficking, lets take pity on them ok)

The bosses may also be the same guys who are involved in the ah long business, supplying ecstasy pills etc. This in turn will undoubtedly involve the gangs and the triads. These activities will most certainly multiply in Selangor. 

And kidnapping too maybe a spinoff to raise funds for business expansion, settle debts etc. Or the bouncers and bodyguards may moonlight as kidnappers for extra income. The same skill sets are involved - a willingness to engage in criminal activity. Folks the more people you have who are involved in criminal activity like vice and prostitution, the more spinoff problems you will create in the community. Watch out. 

Think lah. Why now? Why are there so many kidnappings, especially in Selangor, at this point in time? As I said it correlates with the huge number of massage parlours in Selangor. It is going to get worse.  

What can you do? Well voting the Pakatan out is the best thing to do. 

You can also take precautions. Just be careful at the ATMs and gas stations, especially during graveyard hours (late at nite, early mornings, Sundays and public holidays. The teacher was abducted at around 7 am)).  The ladies should not drive to ATMs alone at these times  neither should your  driving age kids (both boys and girls).

Keep your car doors locked 24 hours a day. The only time you unlock the door is when someone enters or exits the car.  Even inside your car porch inside your own house, lock the doors the moment you are inside the car, and as soon as you leave the car. At gas stations and ATMs, whoever remains inside the car should lock the doors while waiting for mum or dad to finish their chores.  At gas stations and ATMs I always take with me both the car keys and  my handphone.  

If you drive a fancy car that can attract attention, do not park immediately in front of the place you are heading to (especially ATMs).  Park a little distance away and walk unnoticed to your destination.  Unless you are sure you are safe (or you want to show off your car). 

Always look around to see who else is hanging around (as far as your eye can see) at gas stations, ATMs, the mamak restaurant and also at the traffic lights. If any car is following you - or even seems to be going in the same direction as you - just keep an eye open.

There is a reason for my paranoia. When we lived in Bangsar one night I returned home late. Suddenly I saw a car behind mine - meaning the car had been waiting idling by the roadside. So instead of driving home, I drove past our home, then took some left turns and right turns. The car followed me. Then I drove around the block, slowly, speeding up and being erratic - making it known that I knew there was a car behind me. I took another turn and the other car finally  drove off.  Strange behaviour - God knows who was in that other car. 

I hope the Police will set up a special "kidnap action station" maybe with a dedicated hotline phone number.  If things are done super fast - especially where people went missing at ATMs, gas stations, on the way to school etc there is greater chance of rescuing the victim unharmed and also nabbing the criminals.  

The other thing you can explore is getting one of those GPS tracker services and putting it in your car, your handbag, SIM card etc. So that the moment you go missing, your loved ones can contact the security company and zoom in on your location.  This may be worth the money spent.

Kidnapping carries a mandatory death sentence in Malaysia.  In China shooting abductors on sight is a cheaper and more effective option.  Here are some pictures :

Man with knife holds boy hostage. Chief negotiator arrives (inside window on the left).

Negotiations begin. Everyone can hear.

Negotiations concluded. The crowd cheers.