ANYONE READ THIS TODAY??
Thief takes off in S'porean's car in JB
Owner almost run down in bid to confront culprit
By Yen Feng
PASSERS-BY looked on as a Singaporean man had his car stolen under
his nose in Johor Baru on Saturday night, and then was almost run
down as the thief sped off in it.
At about 8pm, Singaporean Wei Shiming had just sat down to dinner
with his wife at a food market near the Crystal Crown hotel when he
saw something odd happen.
Someone was reversing his Toyota Rav 4 out of the parking
lot.
Frantic, Mr Wei ran towards his car, parked only 20m away, to
confront the thief.
The thief - a Chinese man in his early 30s - was caught among other
cars waiting to leave the carpark.
Mr Wei ran up to him and tried to open the car door.But he could
not open it even with his electronic car key.
Refusing to give up, he yanked at the door handle so hard that he
pulled it off.
He then rushed to the front of his car and pummelled the
windscreen, shouting angrily: 'Get out! What are you doing?'
But the man did not respond. Nor did anyone come to Mr Wei's
aid.
As the cars in front drove off, the thief seized his opportunity
and sped away, throwing him to the side of the street.
Mr Wei shouted for help and finally found a driver who picked him
up and gave chase.
But after 10 minutes of searching, they gave up - the thief was
gone.
The whole incident lasted about 15 minutes.
Mr Wei's wife, meanwhile, called the police.
Johor police later arrived on the scene and drove the couple to the
Central Police Station to make a police report.
When interviewed yesterday, Mr Wei told The Straits Times that he
saw no signs of tampering with the car door or the window when he
approached the thief.
He said he goes to JB regularly to have his car waxed at a shop in
the basement of the Holiday Plaza. This was his 12th visit in 18
months.
Mr Wei said he will lose nearly $30,000 worth of cash and items,
even with the payout from his insurance company.
Among the items in the car were a notebook PC, two iPods and a
newly installed stereo system worth $5,000.
He also suffered minor cuts on his hands, face and elbows. Both his
knees were bleeding.
He and his wife have been shaken by the incident.
Said Mrs Wei: 'We hope to warn other Singaporeans going to Johor to
take extra precautions with their vehicles. You can never be too
careful.'
In a bid to crack down on street crime, Johor police say there are
plans to enlist bus and taxi drivers as lookouts as part of a
community-based initiative.
A network of street cameras will also be set up around the
city.
The cameras will be wirelessly linked to a police control
centre.
Last year, Singapore visitors made about 7.06 million trips to
Johor.
About 150 motorcycles and more than 70 cars from Singapore were
stolen in Johor last year, compared to about 180 motorcycles and
100 cars in 2004.
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