Soon, cops will be there

Soon, cops will be there

Police to set up booth in Taman Wangsa Permai to ease crime worries

CECILIA VICTOR

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011 14:18:00

LIVING IN FEAR: The council building which the residents claim to be empty

FOR too long, folks at Taman Wangsa Permai, Selayang, have been living in fear following several reports of crime in the area.

Worse, residents have to travel to the out-of-the-way Desa Jaya police station to lodge a report.

Now, they want a police station closer to home.

One resident, STEPHEN NG, spoke of a fight involving some residents and several foreigners on May 16. He says a scuffle broke out when residents confronted the foreigners for allegedly disturbing local women.

He adds a stretch of road leading from Sri Damansara to Sungai Besi, is prone to petty crimes including snatch thefts, and that break-ins are common.

Residents find the long distance to the police station inconvenient and want a station at Wangsa Permai to help them feel more secure.

STEPHEN suggests a Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) office there be turned into one. The trouble is, he says the council is unwilling to give up its building, even though it is not being used.

He claims the building is occupied by other parties unknown to him.

STEPHEN says another resident has started a petition and has so far collected 1,200 signatures from residents.

JENNY LEE, a resident there for the past 10 years, agrees with STEPHEN. "We pay a RM50 fee to make this a guarded community but in spite of that, crime still occurs."

● SELAYANG Municipal Council president Datuk Zainal Abidin Aala says: "A police booth can be set up in the area for residents to report crime.”

However, he denies the council’s Wangsa Permai office is occupied by non-council members but is being used as a council collections office.

Zainal Abidin says council meetings are also held there.

● GOMBAK police chief Assistant Commissioner Abdul Rahim Abdullah says while they understand the residents’ concerns, they are unable to cater to their request at the moment.

"To build another police station would mean planning, identifying a place and allocating budget and staff.

“The Desa Jaya area is densely populated, hence, it is hard to find land to build a station there.”

Abdul Rahim is, however, receptive towards the council's suggestion a police booth be set up.

He says the crime rate in Wangsa Permai is manageable compared with other areas such as Taman Ehsan or other parts of Gombak district, as it is a guarded community.

"Most of the time, the problems they have are with African nationals. We receive complaints about them disturbing local women and blasting loud music in the middle of the night. It is more of a cultural difference. We have dialogues with residents from time to time to discuss this," says Abdul Rahim.

Gombak police have also made a request to the Federal Police Headquarters to upgrade its current police station from grade C to grade B, which would see an increase in staff.

"The documentation is complete and are waiting approval."

A Sungai Buloh police headquarters will also be set up soon, the location of which, Abdul Rahim says, is close to Wangsa Permai.

With this, the areas once under Gombak police jurisdiction will be transferred to the Sungai Buloh police.

Residents want police station in Wangsa Permai

Residents want police station in Wangsa Permai

2011/06/05
By Stephen Ng
streets@nstp.com.my

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Lai Nyuk Moi feels safer if the police are based in the area

KUALA LUMPUR: With rampant break-ins, robberies and smashing of vehicle windscreens in Taman KIP, Wangsa Permai, Wangsa Aman and Aman Puri, residents are now hoping that the police will set up a permanent base in the community.

The area, with its high density population of 50,000, is frequently hit by burglars and robbers in broad daylight.

Some car break-ins have also been reported in Sutera Apartment in Taman KIP when the streetlights were out of service.

A Damansara Suria Apartment resident, Wong Mee Leng, 40, said that she welcomes the idea of the police setting up a mini police station here.

"We have seen the patrol cars from time to time, but they have to cover a large area," she said.

"With a nearby police station, response time could be reduced substantially."

Relating a number of burglary cases in her apartment recently, she said that if the police have a base to operate from, there would be fewer cases of robbery.

Wong said because some of the burglars are armed, there is very little that the security guards can do.

Another resident, 62-year-old Juliet Soh said there was a recent case where some residents had assaulted a few foreigners over some misunderstanding.

"If the police are sending their mobile police unit to the area, why not find them a permanent place to set up a mini police station?" she asked.

The nearest police station, she added, is in Taman Ehsan which is quite a distance away.

"When there is an emergency, it takes time for the police to respond. If the police are based here, they only need to focus on a smaller area," Soh said.

Concurring with Soh's suggestion, another Wangsa Permai resident, Lai Nyuk Moi, 39, said she would also feel safer if the police are based in the community.

"Because of the heavy traffic congestion, it takes a longer time for the police to reach the crime scene," she said.

Lai, who has lived in Wangsa Permai for the past eight years, said her area had also reported numerous break-ins.

"There are a lot of foreigners in this place," she said.

"With the large number of apartments and households in the area, there is an urgent need for the police to be permanently based here."

Seri Puri Apartment resident, Felina Wong, 45, also voiced the same concern.

"We hope the local council will accommodate our request by offering a suitable place for the police to set up a permanent base here," she said.

A possible site is the branch office of the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) in Wangsa Permai, where the ground floor is used for collection of council assessments.

The double-storey building, which was previously used as a show house, was handed over to MPS and residents said the building is largely underutilised, except for residents who make payments of council assessments twice a year.

It is believed that the upper floor of the building is vacant.

Gombak OCPD ACP Abdul Rahim Abdullah said he supported the setting up of a police beat base in Wangsa Permai.

"We agree if such facilities are available to us," he said.

Read more: Residents want police station in Wangsa Permai http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/2rfa/Article/#ixzz1OV69pk96