Whither the Security Guards Companies Part 2 - Shameful Expose

By: Danny Liew Shan Lee

Shameful!  Yesterday’s robbery at Tomei (a local jewellery chain) at Festival City Mall, Setapak here in Kuala Lumpur was again committed by an armed guard.  Whilst there was no casualty, the beleaguered industry took yet another beating on its image.

Early news reports had indicated that the security guard-turned robber was believed also to have gotten the job using identification documents obtained via dubious means (Armed security guard with fake ID robs goldsmith shop in Setapak, http://www.nst.com.my/latest/armed-security-guard-with-fake-id-robs-goldsmith-shop-in-setapak-1.389195).  

While in the first robbery, Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) can be absolved from being faulted; there is almost no reason to absolve them for this robbery. 

Wrong Priorities

The first robbery should have prompted immediate action by the police force to do a sweep over the roll-call of individuals working in the industry, focusing on those who have access to arms.  Yet, the first few arrests were made on security guards without weapons. 

Whither the Security Guard Companies – Bank Officer Murder Opens a Can of Worms

By: Danny Liew Shan Lee

The robbery of Subang Jaya AmBank branch that resulted in the senseless murder of the branch operations officer has shocked the nation. The robbery may have netted the suspect, ostensibly from Jalan Apas of Tawau a total of RM450,000 (approximately USD143,300). But the repercussions of his action may see the security industry being targeted for industry-wide cleanup. 

Long being derided as a major exploiter of workforce by workers union, the industry has been almost continuously attracting negative news. The underpaid workers in the industry had been accused of nearly every crime under the sun. But this case it has reached a new low. Never before in a robbery by an armed guard that the guard had resorted to murder his charge. 

The fact that the cops were able to pinpoint that the murderer is actually a foreigner (believed to be from Sulawesi, Indonesia) using a forged MyKad (national identification document) and that he was issued a pump-action shotgun without proper vetting and qualification has now forced the government to bring the hammer on the security firm that employed the murderer.