Penang awards four for aiding snatch theft victim
Although 10 people were seen apathetic about snatch theft victim Tan Kim Chuan - as CCTV camera footage taken in Rifle Range on Tuesday showed - four people later came forward to assist the 60-year old woman, who later died from head wounds.
Although 10 people were seen apathetic about snatch theft victim Tan Kim Chuan - as CCTV camera footage taken in Rifle Range on Tuesday showed - four people later came forward to assist the 60-year old woman, who later died from head wounds.
Today, the four are were recognised by the state government for their "humanity" and were presented with certificates of appreciation and RM200 each.
They are Mah Yoon Yee, Saravana Kumar, Zarolnizam Talib and Khoo Ean Oon.
Mah, 74, was first seen on CCTV, waving his walking stick to alert others to Tan's situation, while Saravana, 32, and Zarolnizam, 37, carried the victim's body to the side of the road.
Khoo, 57, looked after the victim and treated her head with medication while others tried to get further help for her.
The CCTV footage shows seven people walking past Tan without helping her as she lay unconscious on the road at the Rifle Range flats, suffering a cracked skull.
She succumbed to her injuries at the Penang Hospital, nine hours later.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who presented the certificates and cash, said although he was disappointed with those who were not moved to help Tan, others came forward to do so.
He thanked the four for their assistance to Tan and contribution to society.
An example for others to follow
"We hope their acts of kindness will be an example for others to follow," Lim told a press conference in Komtar.
"We do feel bad about those who did not help her during the six minutes of her injury. But most of all, we condemn the acts of the perpetrators who snatched her bag and caused her fall," he added.
"We hope the police will be able to nab the murderers as soon as possible. This is what we are waiting for."
Lim said although statistics showed crime to have reduced by 26 percent , cases like this would not promote public confidence or reflect that the country is safe from crime.
He cited several
incidents
of violence that had occurred recently, including the robbery and physical assault of the mother of PKR's Balik Pulau MP Yusmadi Yusoff.
Lim will call at Yusmadi's house later today, after attending Tan's funeral.
He also said yesterday's state executive council meeting decided to ask Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to provide more police personnel for Penang.
"We feel that situation is under control at the moment, but we do not want things to worsen or become critical," Lim said.
"We are hoping that the home minister will agree with us and send more police officers and funds to Penang to guard public safety and for the force to do its job properly."
Lim said the statistics on reduction of crime rate appeared "pretty", but it did not inspire public confidence with incidents violence continuing to take place on a daily basis.
"These incidents take place in Penang, which has a lower crime rate than most states. I shudder to think of the situation in other states where high crime rates continue to be recorded."
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