Malaysians have been told not be "overzealous" in seeking to apprehend snatch thieves following the death of a good Samaritan who had tried the nab one of the culprits yesterday.

"The police should not be too hasty in encouraging the public to perform citizens' arrests, as was advised by some senior officers recently," said Gerakan vice-president Dr S Vijayaratnam.

Rosli Mohd Saad ( photo ) was killed when he tried to catch a snatch thief in Ampang yesterday. He came to the aid of a woman and chased after the suspect.

However, the suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed Rosli twice.

"This recent tragedy is what can happen if overzealous persons try to apprehend desperate criminals, who don't give a second thought to resorting to violence when cornered.

"Many of them are drug addicts or hardcore felons, who care not for the consequences of their action. It is better safe than sorry," said the Gerakan leader.

New strategies

Recent deadly attacks by snatch thieves had sparked public outrage and the police have declared war on these bike muggers following the deaths of two female victims.

Two weeks ago, a snatch thief was beaten to death by an angry mob in Klang. The suspect had earlier snatched a handbag while riding on a motorcycle from a woman near a restaurant.

According to the police, some half a dozen people who witnessed the incident managed to catch the suspect and attacked him.

The suspect sustained serious injuries and was rushed to hospital but died without regaining consciousness.

Vijaratnam said that while citizens' arrests can be carried out, but they should only be done under certain circumstances.

"It is better done by a group of people rather than an individual. Furthermore, it would be advisable not to indulge in such bravado in secluded places," he said.

He added that the police should also think of new strategies to deal with the growing problem as conventional methods do not seem to be effective.

Utmost priority

Meanwhile, DAP leader Lim Kit Siang urged the police to declare an all-out war against snatch-thieves by increasing police visibility and accessibility.

"The police must ensure that the recent fatal victims of snatch-thefts, including Rosli, have not died in vain," he said in a statement.

He said that the police must stop combating the crime by merely revealing statistics on the crime reductions in recent months.

He also said that in the past five years, there was an average of at least one death from snatch-theft a year, but this has escalated to three deaths now in five weeks.

Prior to the death of Rosli, Johor Baru-based Nanyang Siang Pau clerk Chong Fee Cheng and Brickfields resident Chin Wau Fung had both been fatal victims of snatch thieves.

The Opposition Leader added that the police should be tasked to weed out these snatch-thieves, rather than being burdened with arresting and prosecuting over 5,000 18-year-old national service dodgers who have failed to report for the programme.