The government may introduce a law to empower citizens to play a more forceful role in order to curb crimes such as snatch thefts, said Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"I'm looking into how to beef up the legal provisions to authorise citizens to a certain degree (and) to encourage them to extend their assistance to the police to curb crimes," he told Bernama .

The premier said he would discuss the matter more specifically with the cabinet and would ask the Attorney-General's Chambers to draft a Bill to be tabled in Parliament as soon as possible.

Basically, the proposed law would allow citizens to play a more effective role based on legal provisions in an effort to curb crimes.

Abdullah said the incident where a snatch theft suspect was fatally assaulted by several people in Klang last Saturday showed that public anger was at its height.

He said it reflected the awareness of the responsibility of the public in helping to reduce the incidence of crime.

Public anger

However, the premier cautioned the public not to take the law into their own hands. In the Klang case, the suspect slipped into a coma and succumbed to his injuries. Police have classified the case as murder.

"It reflected the reaction and anger of the people against the offence of snatch theft but they should not resort to actions that will eventually cause other problems and be the ones to face the consequences," he said.

"Public awareness in curbing crime is a positive development but it must be pursued within the scope of the law. (People) can hand over the snatch theft suspects to the police in accordance with the process of the law."

Snatch theft cases have received widespread media coverage following the death of two women in recent weeks.

Last Sunday, Federal CID Director Musa Hassan said witnesses to such incidents could make a citizen's arrest.

He said they could apprehend the offenders or obstruct the vehicle used to prevent them from escaping, and subsequently hand the suspects to police.

In the first four months of the year, 4,511 cases of snatch theft were reported throughout the country. Last year, 15,798 cases were reported, compared to 14,640 cases in 2002.