The tragic death of a snatch theft victim, Chong Fee Cheng in Johor Baru, stirs me to write this letter.

Snatch theft is now a Malaysian scourge and must be dealt with as such. It has wrecked the lives of many victims and it is not good for the tourism industry.

It appears to me that snatch theft is so prevalent these days that almost everyone I speak to personally knows a victim or two of this terrible scourge.

Some years ago, my aunt had her necklace snatched, while out on a morning walk in a housing estate. About two years back, my daughter became a victim, while walking to her car, after shopping at a major shopping centre. Also, about two years ago, a lady friend had her hand bag containing a land title, passport and cash snatched.

Last year, a lady bank officer, whom I know, had her bag snatched in front of her bank, during lunch time. Then recently, my wife's close friend had her handbag snatched near a shopping centre. In all cases, some bodily injuries resulted. All the victims were traumatised. They were all females.

The other day, I overheard a middle-aged lady telling her friend at a departmental store counter that she no longer carried any handbag because it was snatched twice. She said that she was keeping her cash in her pocket, and of course, she was wearing pants.

How sad it is to note that the fear of being snatched has even affected how this lady dressed herself. I wonder, whether one day these evil robbers, would resort to undressing their victims for money.

What is happening to our society? Why is it that our mothers, wives, daughters, sisters and friends could no longer walk down a street, without the constant fear of being attacked by snatch thieves? Why am I having this fearful feeling that this menace is getting from bad to worse?

Obviously it is not possible to pin point one single factor as the cause. But I do suggest that criminals and would-be ones are emboldened by apparent snatching successes. Another weakness is, perhaps, the inadequacy of deterrence and law enforcement.

What must be done? Speaking for myself, I think we must increase public deterrence against snatch thefts. For example, I suggest that management of banks and other public areas install CCTVs outside their premises, especially near bus or taxi stands and car parks.

This way, hopefully, snatch thieves would think twice before striking any victim for fear of being captured on tape. I also suggest an increase in police surveillance and intelligence to deter and prevent snatching incidents. The current royal commission on the police force, hopefully, has this matter in their consideration.

On law enforcement, there is a suggestion that convicted snatch thieves receive more severe punishment including mandatory canning. This suggestion is timely and worthy of consideration.

Of course, our woman folk need to be more vigilant, and this requires constant reminders and education. In closing, I hope that Chong Fee Cheng has not died in vain.

Let her death galvanise us into concrete action in dealing with this national menace and scourge; not tomorrow, but now.