Singaporeans beware of car thefts in JB

SINGAPORE - A Singaporean lost his car in Johor Bahru on Saturday while dining just 10 kilometres away from the Causeway.

This comes just a day after Johor's police chief reassured visitors that his department is in "full control" of the crime situation in the Malaysian state.

The Police Chief had highlighted a 25 per cent drop in the total number of cases last year, as well as a steady decline in crimes against Singaporeans.

62-year-old property manager John Chew travels to Johor with his friends every weekend for golf.

But this time he was in for a rude shock, after he finished his meal at On Kee Restaurant along Jalan Permas 10, some 10 kilometres away from the Causeway.

"I parked my car just outside the restaurant, and this is a rather big restaurant in Permas Jaya, and we had an early dinner - we started at 5pm and finished at about 5.45pm. And to my horror, when my friend came out to take a smoking break, he didn't see my car and was wondering where it was. That's when the horror came and we realised that my car was hijacked," said Mr Chew, victim of car theft in Johor Bahru.

Besides losing the car, Mr Chew and his friends also lost their golfing equipment and personal belongings, like passports.

Mr Chew made a police report immediately, and was told by a police officer that it's "most unlikely" to recover his car.

Mr Chew said: "I'm pretty surprised. It's a small car, Mitsubishi Colt, I really don't understand why they did it... There could be other reasons; my car's spare parts could be in demand, and these sort of things. But it's definitely not an MPV or SUV, which is normally the target of car thefts in Malaysia that I'm aware of.

"The restaurant staff, when I queried them, said that two persons came in a car, tried to (break into) my car, but couldn't. They left and came back in about 15-20 minutes' time, (broke into my car), started it and drove it away. So, it's pretty surprising how they can do that with a car that's equipped with alarm and all that."

Johor's Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff said on Friday that the number of Singaporean crime victims in Johor remains low, adding that criminals do not target victims based on race, religion or nationality.

There were 320 Singaporean crime victims in Johor last year, out of the 14.1 million trips Singaporeans made across the Causeway.

Mr Chew and his friends returned home on temporary passports issued by the Singapore Consulate-General in Johor Bahru.

Mr Chew said he will continue his regular visits, but with added precaution.

He said: "We will still go there but this time with additional precaution and not taking things for granted, like 'it has never happened to me, it will never happen to me'... Irrespective of what you drive, whether it's small car or big car, additional precaution is definitely worth considering.

"Apart from keeping our individual passports and personal items on ourselves, if we leave the car, I would consider locking my steering wheel with a pedal brake, so that's an additional deterrent for any would-be thieves, who's going to hijack the car."

As for his car, he said the insurance allows him to claim compensation equivalent to the market value.

- Today