Residents of commercial centre worry about security
KUCHING: Tenants and individuals working and living at the City Bridge Commercial Centre in Pending here are concerned about security in the area. They claim to have been losing goods to break-ins while vandalism of not just the shop lots but personal vehicles also keeps them on their toes.
An employee who has been working at the centre for five years said they had no access to power supply for days since the main cable there was stolen on April 30.
Amy Lee said they reported the incident to the centre’s management almost immediately but the power was only restored on May 5. She said she had turned to a ruling political party for help but the party never got back to them.
“When the management did not take swift action, I called SUPP HQ on May 4. The one who took my call, instead of helping me, referred me to SUPP Pending branch.
“When I told the person that I didn’t have the contact number of SUPP Pending branch, I was prompted for my contact number and told that they would call me back. But they never did. Since I could not get help from SUPP, I turned to DAP,” said Lee when met at the centre yesterday.
Lee, together with her co-worker Jessica Lee, aired their frustration to DAP’s Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong, who made a site visit. Amy and Jessica even showed reporters their phone call history to prove that they indeed sought help from the SUPP headquarters on May 4.
Speaking to reporters, Yong said she received the complaint last week and was informed that the crime issues there had been getting from bad to worse since early this year.
“Not only was the main cable stolen end of last month, the roller shutters of various shop lots here were also stolen. Some tenants told me that they kept losing their stocks that were stored in upper floor of the centre. They also said that the glasses of their vehicles parked at the basement car park were broken.”
Yong said all that the tenants and individuals wanted was for the management to take the matter seriously and the police conduct patrol in the area.
“The management should work together with the police to ensure the safety of tenants as well as those working and living here.”
According to her, some employees at the centre are staying at the upper levels. She said she had personally informed a director of the management, and would later write a formal letter to the management.
Yong took the press on a brief tour around the centre, which was apparently not properly maintained with quite many roller shutters missing and minor cables hanging in the air instead of fixed to the wall. The stolen major cable was next to a Sesco power cabinet located at the basement car park. It is understood that Sesco has secured the cabinet with a bigger padlock.
When the management did not take swift action, I called SUPP HQ on May 4. The one who took my call, instead of helping me, referred me to SUPP Pending branch. Amy Lee