Elderly residents express shock at robbery in their typically quiet neighborhood

NIBONG TEBAL: Residents in Taman Tambun Indah here have revealed that their neighbourhood was relatively crime-free until last month, when two robbers waylaid three senior citizens who were out for a pre-dawn stroll in the area.
One of them, who only wanted to be known as Lim, said as far as he could recall, the last criminal incident occurred five years ago. He said the neighbourhood was relatively peaceful until Nov 27, when three of its residents were attacked.
"It's quite shocking when the incident happened close to us," he said.
Other neighbours also recalled that the housing area was not the type associated with violence.
"We are not in the urban epicentre as we are a suburban neighbourhood," Lim said.
Many of the residents are in the middle age to elderly group. Therefore, they hope the police will step up patrols in the area, especially during nights and early mornings.
In the Nov 27 incident, a senior citizen partaking her morning walk was robbed of her jewellery worth RM200 by two men.
The victim, 66, was with two friends, aged 70 and 78, when two men suddenly exited a car and started chasing them at about 6.30am.
Even though the incident was captured by a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera which was installed at a nearby grocery shop, and the video of the event went viral, the suspects remain on the prowl.
Lim has expressed dismay that the culprits have not yet been caught. The senior citizens involved have since lodged police reports over the incident.
When contacted, South Seberang Prai police chief Supt Shafee Abd Samad said police are hunting for the suspects. He added that the owner of the car was detained as he was believed to be involved in car thefts.
However, he was not involved in this robbery.
Police believe the suspects may be involved in similar robberies in the district.