Empty hotels in KK target of burglars
Empty hotels whose business has been severely impacted by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic have become targets for burglars.
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Public Complaint Bureau chief Jason Liew said small hotels in Kampung Air that were left unmanned have been burglarized.
It was learned that a hotel at Kampung Air had recently been broken into. Among the valuable items which have been stolen were televisions, washing machine and electronic devices. Eeven the closed-circuit television (CCTV) was damaged. The burglar(s) even attempted to climb into the hotel next door via the water pipes but did not make it as the pipes were broken.
Liew said almost 90 percent of the hotels in the city have suspended their operation due to the Movement Control Order (MCO).
“Burglars see this as an opportunity to steal from hotels.”
Without any source of income, he said these lawbreakers took advantage of the police’s preoccupation with setting up roadblocks to enforce the MCO to break into business premises.
“We believe that the police will do their job in safeguarding the safety of the people and properties.”
He hoped that the police would intensify patrol in crime hotspots so that the people could feel at ease that their business premises would not be the target of burglars.
Liew added that there have been complaints where by members of the public were told that the police hotline they contacted was incorrect and was transferred to another hotline.
He hoped that the police could standardize the hotline number so that the public knew which number to call in the event of an emergency.