Snatch thieves in our midst

TMM,Monday, February 21st, 2011

Be wary and pay attention to your surroundings 

A snatch theft incident occurred right before my eyes last Sunday morning, while walking towards my car from a wet market in the Cheras area. 

My wife was walking ahead of me. Suddenly, a motorcyclist brushed against her and my first thought was an accident had occurred. 

Then I realised the motorcyclist was attempting to grab something and when I saw my wife still clutching the purse under her arm, I assumed he had failed. 

I decided to scare him by giving chase and shouting loudly while still holding bags of groceries in both hands. 

I was hoping to alert the public but gave up after a short distance. It was 10am and the market road had turned quiet. 

Looking back at my wife, I saw she was still rooted to the spot, stunned. Only then I realised she might have lost something. 

True enough, her necklace was gone. I regretted not looking at the motorcycle's registration plate during the short chase. 

Several years ago, I was a 'snatch theft' victim. It happened inside the main cavern of Batu Caves. I was holding a packet of crackers behind my back when a monkey snatched it. 

That aside, I had witnessed three heart wrenching occasions where female victims ran after snatch thieves on motorcycles. 

I have also read many reports of snatch thefts over the years and have since been wary of motorcycles with pillion riders, travelling with no clear direction. 

The latest incident involving my wife was a real revelation. The thief acted alone and was just as efficient and skillful as a pickpocket. 

Without stopping his bike, he just clawed his fingers into my wife’s neck, pulled off the necklace and sped off, almost in one swift motion. 

Apart from some light bruises on my wife’s neck and my voice had turned coarse from all the shouting, we are thankful that no one was hurt. 

I have known that many victims did not get help when people around them merely looked and stared, as they did not know exactly what had transpired (in that swift moment). 

I must now add that most of the time, victims were too stunned to react. We can be ever ready and prepared but sometimes things just happen. 

Instead of being overly paranoid, we should be more careful and be wary on our roads to avoid such accidents and crimes. 

Young families with babies or children in tow are particularly vulnerable. Ladies with flashy handbags certainly attract snatch thieves like moths to a flame. 

YS Chan

Kuala Lumpur