Police have declared war on motorcycle-borne snatch thieves in major cities after two women were killed in attacks within a month, a top security official said today.

"We have stepped up security patrols by deploying members of the anti-riot squad, paramilitary personnel and special branch officers," Musa Hassan, federal criminal investigation department chief told AFP .

In the latest deadly attack, a 37-year-old mother-of-two was killed when snatch thieves on a moving motorcycle grabbed the backpack she was carrying in the southern city of Johor Baru on Sunday, smashing her onto the road.

Chong Fee Cheng ( pix ), who was on a shopping trip with her husband, was dragged several meters before the straps broke. She was knocked unconscious and died in hospital the next day.

Her death, coming just 23 days after another young woman died from head injuries inflicted in a similar snatch, has sparked public outrage in Malaysia and police say they will treat the incidents as murder.

The roads of Malaysia's cities are choked with motorcycles, masking both the approach and the getaway of the ubiquitous snatch thieves, and a total of six people have died in such attacks since 1999, local media reported. - AFP