Channel NewsAsia - 2 hours 5 minutes
ago
SINGAPORE: While the overall crime situation in Singapore is
under control, police said on Wednesday cheating phone scams,
crimes against elderly and thefts from vehicles remain areas of
concern.
Phone scam callers make random cold calls to try their luck on
the unsuspecting public.
In a mid—year crime report released on Wednesday, the police
said the culprits have adopted several new tactics in the first
half of this year.
They included lucky draw or lottery scams which persuade victims
to make advance payments to claim a prize. A new variation saw
culprits using SMS to inform victims that they have won in lucky
draws.
There were also cases where culprits claimed that the victims
have won luxury cars in lucky draws and asked them to transfer
money for administrative fees.
The police said some 180 victims fell prey to these scams in the
first six months of the year, and lost about S$2.4 million in cash
when they transferred money via remittance houses to various
overseas recipients.
Another area of concern was crimes against the elderly,
according to the police. Robbery and snatch theft targeting elderly
victims increased 25 per cent in the period, from 116 to 145 cases
in the first half of 2008.
Generally, elderly victims were robbed at common areas of HDB
estates in the day when victims were alone and going about their
daily routine.
The police also said that thefts from vehicles was another key
crime concern. A 26 per cent rise in theft from vehicle cases was
noted in the first six months of 2008.
In most of the about 1,000 cases reported, culprits would smash
the side windows of cars or tamper with the rear compartment of
motorcycles to gain entry to the vehicles.
Commercial crimes went up by 11.7 per cent, from 1,583 cases to
1,769 in the first half of 2008.
But Singapore remains a safe place to live and work in, said the
police. The overall crime rate registered a marginal one per cent
increase from the same period in 2007 to some 16,368 cases.
Apart from rigorous enforcement and public education, police
said community engagement is an important component in the overall
strategy to combat crime.
Increasingly, the police are making use of new media to reach
out to the public, such as the launch of the Singapore Police Force
(SPF) YouTube channel earlier this year.
The police are also leveraging on technology and forensic
evidence to investigate crimes. — 938Live/yb