KL security guard lets cornered thief escape

A security guard is supposed to stop crime.

But a guard in Kuala Lumpur helped a thief escape.

The incident happened at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) park recently.

The thief tried to hide in a public toilet after attacking a couple at the park around 9.45pm.

The suspect was cornered by the victim in the toilet, The Star reported.

Said bank employee Chook Wai Keat, 24: "My girlfriend and I were taking a walk, when someone punched me from behind and I fell.

"I then heard my girlfriend scream and a man running away with her handbag."

He and another man, who witnessed the incident, gave chase and saw the thief dash into the public toilet.

Said Mr Chook: "We rushed in and struggled with the thief, and managed to trap him in one of the toilet cubicles."

But their efforts came to naught when a security guard turned up and broke up the scuffle.

In doing so, he opened the toilet door and the thief escaped.

FURIOUS

Said Mr Chook: "I was furious. He helped the thief instead of helping us."

He claimed he later found out from the KLCC management that the thief was a former security guard.

This is one of the two snatch thefts which happened at the KLCC recently.

In the second incident which happened last month, Ms Cheong Chor Leng was approached by two men while getting into a friend's car.

Said the 30-year-old insurance agent: "My friend and I were leaving the convention centre, and I was about to get into her car when two men suddenly came from behind.

"They shoved me to the ground and snatched my handbag before fleeing."

She suffered a fractured arm in the attack, the report said.

She said she did not get a good look at the men as the area was dark and it was raining.

Mr Chook and Ms Cheong were speaking to a press conference with Malaysian Chinese Association Public Services and Complaints Department chief Michael Chong on Monday.

Said Mr Chong: "The situation must be looked at seriously by the KLCC management, as these cases happened in a public area which is visited by tourists.

"I urge everyone to be extra careful when out in public."

A police spokesman confirmed the cases, the report added.

This article was published on April 9 in The New Paper.

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