Car Jacking in Damansara Jaya

Received this frightening news from my friend's friend.
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Last Sunday morning (25 May 2008), my immediate neighbor's father in law was robbed of his car (Toyota Altis 1+ yr old) at 9.30am in broad daylight. We live in Damansara Jaya and this is suppose to be a decent neighborhood. We have our own security guards (DJROA) patrolling the neighborhood. Even so, such violent crime still happens.

I was in my home packing my golf gear as I have an afternoon golf game. I heard screaming coming from outside and it sounded like an old man's scream. I looked out my front window and saw a car outside of my house. Couldn't see very much as my gate was closed. My immediate thought was that there's been a accident and my neighbor is hurt. Then I heard my neighbor shouting and it sounded angry. I quickly got my autogate remote and went outside. I opened the autogate and saw a new silver Honda CRV outside my house with 2 guys in there. When I walked out towards the gate, on my left, I saw my neighbor trying to pull his dad away from his car. His dad was still screaming and holding on to the open passenger car door.

Then I saw blood dripping from his right wrist. There was blood on the road too. I saw a guy in the Toyota starting his dad's car. At that point one of the guy got down from the CRV with a pistol drawn walking towards my neighbor whose back was towards him. Only at this point I realized it was a robbery. I shouted at my neighbor to get back into the house. He was still trying to pull his dad away from the car. He was holding on to the door not letting go. Then his accomplice in the Toyota started driving the car away and the guy with the pistol retreated back to the CRV and they all sped away. Luckily that happened or else that guy may have used the gun on my neighbor had his accomplice not driven the car away. Everything was over in seconds from the time I opened the gate.

I saw the wound on my neighbor's wrist which was very deep. He was slashed by a parang when he went to help his dad. The robber hit his dad with the blunt side of the parang to get him to drop the keys as he was walking to his car which was parked outside the gate. He was visiting his daughter and they were getting ready to go out for breakfast. After quickly tying a towel around his arm and another towel to press on his wound to stop the blood, I rushed him to the nearest hospital, i.e. Damansara Specialist hospital. He was operated on the same day to join back the severed tendon of his thumb.

At the hospital, in the emergency ward next bed was another elderly man in his late 50's who had both his wrist bandaged up. He told me he too was a victim of car jacking a short while ago. The description he gave me of the robbers that attacked him and the get away car is the same as what I saw. He lives in SS2, which is just across the road from Damansara Jaya. That means the robbers were on a prowl of the neighborhood. They were not successful in robbing that guy of his car, a Mercedes Benz. So they continued cruising and probably spotted my neighbor's dad's car parked outside the house and when they saw an old man they thought it would be an easy target.

According to my neighbor's wife, it took the police 30mins before they showed up by which time the car could already be on the highway towards Thailand. Their lackadaisical attitude really disgust me.

I've also seen a snatch thief in my neighborhood right before my eyes in front of a popular clay pot chicken rice shop in the early evening. Everything happened in a split second and the guy on a motorbike was gone leaving the wife speech less and her husband dumbfounded.

My other neighbor just a month ago was also almost car jacked by two guys on a motorbike that tried to break her car window when she was waiting to pick up her mom who was at the bank in Damansara Jaya. She was smart enough to drive off with the robbers chasing after her car. She drove to the police station and they stopped following.

I'm really sad and disappointed at what this wonderful country is turning out into. I really have no trust in the capabilities of our police force and I can safely say I speak for many Malaysians. Our safety have been truly compromised. I am living in fear. Now that the robbers have seen my two cars, will they come back for it next??!

It is not that the police and the government are not aware of the very high violent crime rate in this country. They are and the rate seems to be increasing to the layman. Looks like it will come a time when we Malaysians have no choice but to live in gated communities. When will our government take heed that safety of its citizen, its tourist visiting this country, and visitors living/working in this wonderful country are paramount and a responsibility that they should take seriously.

Here's some advice to everyone:-
(1) Be extremely conscious of your surroundings esp when you are getting into your car or driving in/out of your home. If there are any suspicious cars or people, then drive away and make another round just to be sure. Same precaution before you open your autogate. Lock your car doors the moment you get in your car.

(2) If you are confronted by robbers, give them the car or your handbag. Do not fight them. You life is worth much more. You don't want to injured, maimed or worst still killed for something that is replaceable.

(3) Robbers tend to attack older people and females. So be much more alert if you are in that category. Go out in pairs or group. Stay away from walking along road sides, walk on the inside pavement.

(4) Don't save the few ringgits by parking your car by the road side for free if there is inside parking available, esp female drivers. There could be somebody waiting for you when you return to your car.

(5) If you are in the car and still able to drive away if confronted by robbers, drive away to the nearest police station or patrol station where there's a lot of people. If you can't drive away, then I suggest you get down and run away from your car, leave everything and run. They will want your car more than they want you.

Go to the following websites and read up on what you can do to protect yourself. The Malaysian police certainly is not your answer, neither is our government whose struggling for their own survival. They've got no time for us:-

* Travel Safety Tips For Women Travelers (http://www.kevincoffee.com)
* Precautions for Women Travelling Alone (http://www.itis.com.my/itis/safety-tips-1.jsp)

Remember, my wife, family and friends rather I be an alive chicken than a dead hero. Take care and be cautious always.
Tags: Car Jacking, Damansara Jaya, DJROA, Safety Tips, Toyota Altis, Honda CRV, Mercedes Benz, Travelling Alone, Snatch Thief