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 21/04/2008:
Tiong pats Sibu police back for curbing foreign rubber tappers
Urges Sibu police to continue with the good work, arrest and charge the mastermind |
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| BINTULU:
Bintulu MP Dato Seri Tiong King Sing gave the police in Sibu a pat on their
back for their determination to curb the crimes in rubber estates when
criminals sent immigrants to tap rubber there.
In a press statement received here yesterday, Tiong, who is also the youth chief of SPDP, said he had received praises from the people in Sibu after the police vowed an all out action against these criminals. Sibu OCPD ACP Shafie Ismail had vowed last Thursday that he would not hesitate to use the Emergency Ordinance on these criminals when he commented on the arrest of 17 immigrants and three locals caught trespassing and tapping rubber illegally in Sungei menyan and Sungei Bidut. Tiong hoped the Sibu police would continue with the good work, and he called on the people, especially the rubber plantation owners and the victims, to work with them. He agreed with the police that there were masterminds behind this operation, or else, he said the immigrants would not have been so daring to intrude the plantations in broad day. According to the police, Tiong said some among these immigrants arrested in Sungei Bidut and Sungei Menyan had work permits. The SPDP youth chief said this was a matter that must be seriously dealt with, and he hoped the police would trace down the employers of these immigrants, adding that if their workers had gone missing or failed to turn up for work, the police or the Immigration Department should have such records. He said this should be strictly checked on to prevent the run-away immigrant workers ending up in crimes or being hired by criminals. "In such situation, there is no point just arresting and charging the immigrants while the masterminds run free. "After the arrest of these immigrants, the criminals can still hire a new batch of immigrants to commit more crimes." He said the owners who hired these immigrants should be held responsible to prevent the abuse of using the run-away immigrants workers in crimes. He said if there were lope-holes in the laws that prevented the enforcement officers from taking action in such situation, the departments should voice out or make proposals for the amendments of the laws. "This is our duty in the house of common." When ACP Shafie Ismail vowed the tough action last Thursday, he said they would record the statements of the immigrants detained last week. "We want them to reveal the names of the masterminds behind them." Once the police had got these names, Shafie said they would create case files against them before proceeding to arrest and detain them under the Emergency Ordinance. Within a year, the police in Sibu have arrested and exiled more than 20 gangsters and another seven against the vehicle thefts. |
