Set up patrolling unit, urges CPO
The Star Penang 30/9/2004

THOSE staying in apartments hit by a high number of burglaries should set up a voluntary patrolling unit, said Penang police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Othman Talib. 

“These residents can gang up and form a committee to keep a close watch of the apartment blocks,'' he said. 

He said residents could help the committee be the ‘eyes and the ears’ of the police.  

“We can give them tips and even provide training, if it is viable, on how to look out for suspicious characters.  

“With high-tech telecommunication gadgets and their handphones, they can tip us of suspicious characters or movements at their apartments,'' he said. 

Othman said break-ins at high-rise apartment buildings in the state were not rampant. 

However, he said the high number of break-ins at the Desa Bayan apartment in Sungai Ara was peculiar. 

“There must be some sort of attraction there. The police need to have a look and assess the situation first,'' he added. 

State Housing Committee chairman Syed Amerrudin Syed Ahmad urged management companies, who received complaints on security matters from high-rise dwellers, to act on the grouses.  

“They should not just wash their hands and put the blame on residents, who defaulted on maintenance payments,” he said.