Leap in crime? Police reclassify crimes to make the penalties heavier

Gang robberies in Malaysia appear to have jumped drastically this year compared with the previous year, but police say the public should not worry too much.

Police have merely reclassified certain types of crimes so that criminals can be given heavier sentences if convicted.

Gang robbery cases this year have been reclassified as those involving just two robbers, compared with five previously.

This is because being caught for gang robbery carries a far heavier sentence of 20 years in jail.

On the other hand, a lone robber can get a jail term of 10 years, or 14 years if the deed is committed at night.

The reclassification also involves other types of crimes, as police want to stress the gravity of offences, officials say.

Snatch thefts involving two or more offenders have been reclassified as robbery or gang robbery, instead of theft which carries a seven-year jail term.

The overall rise in the crime index this year was 1.75per cent in the first 10 months compared with the same period a year ago.

Overall, 177,141 criminal cases were reported compared with 171,454 cases over the same period last year.

“Malaysia is still a very safe country, but the problem is public perception. We are trying our level best to give a correct picture,” Federal Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Mohd Bakri Zinin told The Straits Times.

Public security is one of the biggest worries of Malaysians as the crime rate has risen steadily over the last few years.

From about 150,000 crimes reported each year from 2000 to 2004, the figure has crept up to around 209,000 last year.

Malaysia is a relatively safe country, said Mohd Bakri, as there are 772 crime cases for every 100,000 residents in Malaysia.

Singapore recorded 704 cases, Hong Kong 1,166 cases, Japan 1,569 and Australia 4,470 cases, he said.

Mohd Bakri raised eyebrows when he disclosed on Sunday that unarmed gang robbery cases had risen to 17,834 cases up to October, from 3,691 cases in the same period last year.

But he told The Straits Times yesterday that this was due to the reclassification.

According to police statistics, unarmed robbery has shown a corresponding drop from 17,241 cases last year, to 2,645 cases for the first half of this year.

Crime is believed to be among the reasons that urban voters turned against the Barisan Nasional government in March, as those living in the biggest cities and towns were the most affected.

The government has started pouring resources into crime prevention, with almost RM6 billion allocated in next year's Budget to recruit more personnel and buy better equipment.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday: “Based on the statistics given by the police, it indicates that the crime rate in Malaysia is lower than Japan and Hong Kong.

“It is also just slightly higher than Singapore to the basis of per hundred thousand of population... but the perception of the public is not the case.”

There are fears that a looming economic downturn next year could contribute to rising crime.

Kamal Affendi Hashim, an exco member of the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation, told The Straits Times it was difficult to link the economic situation to crime, “unless it is a habitual offender who cannot find a job when he is freed from drug rehabilitation centre or jail”.

He said most crime cases are committed by locals, despite the perception that most crimes are committed by foreigners.