The video is in. Recorded by the same camera that recorded the first incident exactly a week later (going by the day).
You can see 4 men on 2 motorcycles coming from west-end at mark 06:59:07.
Woman screaming frantically at 06:59:14.
Woman entering the frame from the east-end of the road at 06:59:49.
When this happened I had just woken up.
We never get to meet the victim.
My family have reasons to believe that the thieves were actually targeting my auntie, who sends her daughter to my house in the morning and leaves to work at exactly 7am everyday. Somehow she was late by 5 minutes on that morning.
Now we make sure another person is outside looking out when she arrives and leaves.
I will be leaving to Kuala Terengganu in a few hours and there won't be internet connection where I'm going, so this is a run of things that have happened with regards to the recent robbery in Taman Maluri (yeah, yeah no surprise on where I stay) and things that will happen in the next few days.
The owner of the house, Mr. V (for victim) and I agreed that we should come up with the petition and send it to the police. I drafted a petition statement and he went around hunting for signatures.
Yesterday he invited me to his house to a meeting. It was no ordinary meeting. Cheras member of parliament was there. YB Tan Kok Wai apparently had been writing to the police, pleading that they set up a police post in Taman Midah, when he suddenly realized upon the recent incidence, Taman Maluri is far worse than Taman Midah. Although Taman Maluri is not under his constituancy, it falls under the responsibility of Cheras Police Headquarters. Since he is already in a mission to push the police in Cheras to play their part, why not add on to his bag of arsenal. I do hope YB Dr Lo' Lo' is debriefed about this by YB Tan.
It was a very grim meeting. Mr. V have been going around Taman Maluri, making photocopies of police reports of recent crime activities to back the petition. From what I see, things are very scary. Some of the police reports include one from a restaurant that was raided by a group of men on 12 motorbikes. They stole everything from the counter. It happened at mid-day.
It's wrong, but I can understand why break-ins happen in the middle of the night. 3am, everyone is sleeping, some houses are empty, thieves break into a house. It's not right, but I get why they do it.
Now, how insane must it be, for a group of men, riding on 12 motorbikes, storm a restaurant in the middle of the day and empty a cash register? And this happened to a restaurant less than a kilometer away from a police station. I find it difficult to comprehend.
There is no order in Taman Maluri.
On Monday, Mr. V and Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye (also a resident here) will meet ACP Amir Ahmad in Balai Polis Pudu to hand in the petition. I hope things will change. I hope order is restored.
On a similar note, Mr. V had reviewed the video of his house robbery and managed to identify the plate number of 2 of the motorcycles involved. Both bear the number 3705. It takes no genius to tell that the number is fake, but just keep in mind of the number. The only reason I can think of why they use similar numbers is that it's a callsign of a group. Maybe. Who knows. Just take note.
The camera that recorded the robbery video in Mr. V's house, published in the previous post, also recorded the snatch theft that was mentioned in the said post. It didn't record the incident per se, but it captured 2 motorcycles driving by, seconds before the snatching occurred. 4 men on 2 motorbikes. He will have it ready for youtube upload soon.
* * * * *
If you are interested to replicate the petition and do the same thing with your local residence and send it to the balai polis near your place, here is a copy of the petition statement I came up with. Just modify it here and there to make it relevant and make your own petition form, which should include a table with 3 columns for name, address and signature. Feel free to use it. Avaiable in English and Bahasa Malaysia.
English
Petition from residents of Taman Maluri, Kuala Lumpur.
Polis Diraja Malaysia to be More Vigilant in Restoring Security and Order in Taman Maluri.
March 26, 2009
Category: Law Enforcement
Region: Taman Maluri, Kuala Lumpur
Target: Polis Diraja Malaysia
Background (Preamble):
The incidence of crime is recently on the rise in the area of Taman Maluri. Almost everyday, residents of Taman Maluri learn about another crime that took place in their neighbourhood. These include break-ins, robbery and snatch theft.
Not only is the incidence rising, the severity of crime has also worsen. Crimes are being committed openly in broad daylight, and some residences or premises were broken into or robbed more than once within a short period of time. It is only the matter of time before a person’s life is lost fighting this overwhelming struggle.
What seemed to illogical and inappropriate is that these crime hot spots are within close proximity to the Balai Polis Taman Maluri Cheras, about 1 kilometer radius from the police station.
Hence, we the residents of Taman Maluri are hoping that Polis Diraja Malaysia plays a vital and leading role in ensuring safety in the area we live in. We also hope that changes made to control and curb crime are done to an observable state and maintained.
Petition:
We who endorse this petition urge Polis Diraja Malaysia to increase its vigilance in preventing crime, restoring security and order in Taman Maluri, in line with the force’s policy to uphold the law and order, to maintain peace and security, and to prevent crime, track, apprehend and charge the criminals.
We hope this can be achieved by:
(a) Frequent and random patrol around the area of Taman Maluri.
(b) Improving interaction between Polis Diraja Malaysia and Taman Maluri residents by means of talks and meetings so information may be disseminated and exchanged.
(c) Establishing a workable mechanism that facilitates residents to report crime or suspicious activities.
Bahasa Malaysia
Petisyen dari penduduk Taman Maluri, Kuala Lumpur.
Polis Diraja Malaysia Perlu Lebih Tangkas dalam Mengekalkan Keselamatan dan Keamanan di Taman Maluri.
26 Mac 2009
Kategori: Penguatkuasaan Undang-undang
Kawasan: Taman Maluri, Kuala Lumpur
Sasaran: Polis Diraja Malaysia
Latar belakang (Pengenalan):
Kebelakangan ini, kejadian jenayah di kawasan Taman Maluri didapati semakin meningkat. Hampir setiap hari, penduduk Taman Maluri dikejutkan dengan berita jenayah yang berlaku di kawasan berdekatan. Kejadian-kejadian ini merangkumi rompakan pecah masuk, samun dan ragut.
Bukan sahaja kadarnya meningkat, keseriusan jenayah juga menjadi semakin teruk. Jenayah kini dilakukan secara terang-terangan malah ada sesetengah rumah dan premis berkali-kali menjadi mangsa jenayah dalam julat masa yang singkat. Hanya masa menentukan bila nyawa pula menjadi pertaruhan dalam menangani masalah ini.
Apa yang lebih merunsingkan adalah kawasan yang terlibat dengan kadar jenayah yang tinggi berada hampir dengan Balai Polis Taman Maluri, Cheras, dalam lingkungan satu kilometer dari balai polis tersebut.
Jesteru, kami penduduk Taman Maluri berharap Polis Diraja Malaysia memainkan peranannya dalam memastikan keselamatan di dalam kawasan kami. Kami juga berharap perubahan mencegah dan membasmi jenayah, bakal dilakukan pada tahap yang dapat dilihat dan dikekalkan.
Petisyen:
Kami yang menyokong petisyen ini mendesak Polis Diraja Malaysia lebih tangkas membasmi jenayah, mengekalkan keselamatan dan keamanan di Taman Maluri, sejajar dengan dasar utama polis untuk memelihara undang-undang dan ketenteraman, mengekalkan keamanan dan keselamatan, mencegah jenayah, mengesan, menangkap dan mendakwa pesalah-pesalah.
Kami harap matlamat ini tercapai melalui:
(a) Rondaan yang kerap dan rambang di kawasan Taman Maluri.
(b) Memperbaiki interaksi antara Polis Diraja Malaysia dan penduduk Taman Maluri melalui ceramah dan mesyuarat supaya maklumat terkini dapat disebarkan dan dikongsi bersama.
(c) Membentuk satu mekanisma yang memudahkan penduduk kawasan melaporkan jenayah dan aktiviti yang mengesyakkan.
Frankly, it is a lot easier to just write 'POLIS JANGAN JADI BACUL' and have people sign that, but hey, we're civilized people right?
This morning as I was waking up, I heard a woman screaming outside. When I rushed out, I learned a woman had just become a victim of snatch thief. The usual motorcycle drive-by and snatch. She was shaken, but unhurt.
Just last week this happened to a house very, very near my place.
The video description is correct. A police station is only 300 meters away. And this happen in broad daylight on a Monday.
I have spoken to the house owner and we are doing something.
In the mean time, be extra cautious and beef up your house security. In hard times like these, crime rates are going nowhere but up.
After exams, I get these episodes of ketembelan (tembel: defined by urban dictionary as idiot. I always thought it was a Malay word that summarizes laziness, hyporeflexia and anhedonia. Ask Ali, dia yang pakai. But I guess idiot works as well).
Tembel
Even back in the pre-clinical days in Bukit Jalil, after exams (which were mostly on Fridays) everyone else would either go to Mid Valley to watch the latest movie, play futsal in Bukit Jalil park or go bowling in Endah Parade. I would normally stay at home, lie in bed in the evening, watch the sunlight fades away on the ceiling. Of course after that I'd sembahyang maghrib, then continue admiring the darkness. All done in the 'aku-ada-masalah' pose although at that moment masalah was the furthest thing to me. Usually these tembel moments last for about half a day, a day at the most.
Aku-ada-masalah stance.
This time around it's no different, except the ketembelan has been going on for a full month! No kidding. My final exam was on the 24th of Feb and it's 24th March today.
I've been wanting to write something about med school, since it's only fitting as it's over and done with, and to me it's a big thing. I had several attempts at writing them out but none of my effort went all the way. I actually have 3 separate drafts of the same topic. So I've given up on composing it, and I'm just gonna go with point form, writing whatever that comes in mind.
1. Was it worth it delaying my studies by more than a year and having to pay extra for the semester I repeated? Yes. Every single second and every single cent.
2. I've said this many times and I'll say it again. IMU is a very small place. If one person breaks wind, everyone will smell it. So whatever you do, keep yourself under the radar. Best still, find a way to slip right through it.
3. Failure is part of the journey. In fact, I have failed more times than I have passed. Not to say I'm proud of it, but I'm glad it happened.
4. There are many elements that contribute to a wholesome, competent doctor. By far, the most important attribute is clinical knowledge. Being a leader, good listener, a humanitarian or a wholistic freak helps, but it boils down to patient treatment. If you don't know how to treat a patient, you can't treat a patient. (Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of people say attitude is more important because if you don't know something you can always learn about it. But how many actually do learn?)
5. Birthdays are over-rated.
6. I presume, unlike work where you leave everything behind when you go back home, in med school you bring back the stress even when the day is over. This is the most tiring thing about med school. The thought of exams, revision, case reports, presentations bla bla bla are just constantly there. It accumulates and peaks, sometimes a few hours before the exam and suddeny crashes. I guess this contributes to the post-exam tembel-ness.
7. Most med school follow the chronology of 2-3 years of pre-clinical (pure academic) followed by another 2-3 years of clinical. But having gone through it, I think the best arrangement is pure academic, clinical, pure academic and clinical. 2 cycles of what is currently practiced, but still within the same amount of time. To me it makes more sense. 8. During med school, I probably spend more time on youtube and Wikipedia more than anything else.
9. The best part of being single throughout med school: Not needing to handle the regular, monthly fits of a woman's PMS. I go 'bwaaahahaha!' when I look at my friends when their girlfriends are going through that cycle of the month. Most of the time I go 'bwaaahaha!'. Most of the time.
10. Speaking of which, when a person is having a fit, you put him in left lateral position, support the head, hold him down and give oxygen. When a woman is having a PMS-fit, you slap her at the left lateral position, support your head, hold her neck down, cutting off her oxygen.
11. Most memorable patient: A young man with an enlarged thyroid of which was highly suspicious of an adenoma. A hemi-thyroidectomy (cutting out only half of the thyroid) was planned, an operation which I think is not suitable for him as all the thyroid should be taken out. I managed to convince a surgeon to postpone the surgery and re-evaluate the patient. The surgeon agrees. A SURGEON!!! Agreeing to a medical student!!?? Gila, aku mati hidup balik pun belum tentu jumpa sorang lagi surgeon macam ni.
12. Most memorable moment: Playing Halo 2 on Xbox with Vijay and Ezran in the middle of the night. 100-kill Slayer on Ascension, with no weapons on map and random primary and secondary weapons. It was a neck and neck fight. Vijay, the shotgun expert, won. Ezran, the plasma grenade thrower, trailed behind with 98 kills and I, the energy sword wielder, had 96 kills. 3 solid hours of pure fun. I don't think the neighbours appreciated it. [Added on 28 March]: It was also an opportunity for me to brush up on my Tamil and Hokkien. We used call-sign such as Ambede Kaase, Thevadiya and Kudikare Kuppe. And all night we were yelling "Lai liao, lai liao, lai liao!!!"
13. 1203 Jalan Rasah. Gosh I miss that place.
14. Most memorable doctor: Dr Ezra. She was the center of any ward round she joins.
15. Most memorable nurse: Queen Latipah. Thank you for making our lives just a little bit more miserable (although at heart she is a very nice person. At heart je la). Nurse Tub Nai is a close second and is at the other end of the spectrum. She is truly, truly, truly a nice person inside and out.
16. The unsung hero: Pakcik Amir, the former canteen operator in Bukit Jalil. Many do not notice, but he is the glue that holds everyone together in IMU.
17. Most memorable lecturer: Dr Dhruba Chakraborty. Some of his favourite quotes are "YES OR NO!!!?? YES OR NO!!?? Why are you beri beri beri noisy like the passir malam???" Once in a while he gives a very serious one, the kind that actually makes a lot of sense. One that I will always remember is "When you laugh, you must laugh from the endocardium!" It re-defines laughing your hearts out.
18. My favourite disease: Bronchial asthma and dengue fever.
19. My favourite medication: Pethidine. Hell yeah. I had a dose of that when my appendix burst. It went from excruciating pain to feeling high as shit in matter of seconds. Even until now, pethidine to me is like the Roadrunner to Wiley Coyote; something I hope I could get but can never have. Goodness. I scare myself sometimes.
20. The best quality a med student can attain is humility. It is the keystone to the rest of the good qualities. 21. If given the chance, would I go through it all over again? Hell no.
