Gangs deceive public by sponsoring community events

Police reveal that secret societies have been sponsoring community events and have even gone to the extent of inviting VVIPs to cover up their illegal activities.

KUALA LUMPUR: Police today revealed that some secret societies deceive the public on their illegal activities by sponsoring official community functions.

Principal assistant director of the federal police (Bukit Aman) Secret Societies, Vice and Gambling Division, Abdul Jalil Hassan said police realised this trend and that these secret societies targeted public functions, especially those attended by VIPs.

“They will sponsor such functions to show that they are involved in community activities. Their aim is none other than to portray that they also do good for society, and they will take photographs with the VVIPs present as proof that they carry out legal activities,” he told Bernama, here, today.

He said this trend among some secret societies was also aimed at infiltrating the local community to divert public attention from their actual activities.

A news portal had reported on certain senior political party leaders attending a function organised by the Kajang Sports and Recreation Club which was claimed to have links with the secret society Gang 36.

Following this, a police report was lodged after the disclosure of a letter through the Internet which claimed that three leaders of a political party were present at the function that was attended by about 6,000 people in Seri Kembangan last Dec 3.

Abdul Jalil said secret society members would become representatives in the local community and would sponsor community functions with important figures also invited to the functions.

“Sometimes the local community does not realise it. Perhaps they are happy with the function being sponsored by certain individuals when actually a secret society gang is behind that sponsorship. They (community) need to be careful.”

Abdul Jalil said police were always monitoring the situation and he advised resident committees to be more cautious about receiving sponsorship of their functions or activities by individuals with a dubious background.

He also urged VIPs and the public to check on the background of a community-organised function to prevent secret societies from taking advantage of it.

“Actually, their intention is to make use of the police…to show that they are strong by having their pictures taken with VVIPs at such functions in order to hide who they really area,” he said.

– Bernama