Brunei homes are easy targets for thieves

IN A recent case heard before the Magistrate's Court, a Vietnamese man confessed that he went on a thieving spree because his fellow countrymen told him it would be easy to steal from homes in the Sultanate.

This incident brought up an important issue pertaining to home security where many are still lax when it comes to protecting their own homes from potential crimes.

While it can be said that Brunei has always enjoyed a reputation as a safe haven from crimes, whether in our own backyards or out in the street, increasing measures can still be taken to beef up security as a form of prevention.

In June, the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) announced Bandar Seri Begawan will soon see the installation of 110 CCTV cameras for the purpose of crime prevention, gathering of intelligence and information related to crime and traffic activities.

In Cam Ba Hung's case, the Vietnamese national told the court during his mitigation that he entered the victim's house, a local, through a bathroom window and left through the living room window. During that time, Cam managed to get away with electronic items estimated to value at $6,000.

All stolen items were never recovered as Cam had sold them off at a price lower than the value.

In another foiled attempt of house break-in, a housebreaker entered Sharon Loo's house in a private residential area in Berakas through an open kitchen window.

"It happened when everyone was sound asleep around 1 to 2am. The thief climbed through the kitchen window. He even went to my parents' bedroom where they were sleeping and looked through the drawers for valuables," said Loo, 25.

"The thief then went to the living room and my parents woke up because there was suspicious sound outside," said Loo.

"The thief quickly ran when he heard people waking up. He ran to the balcony across the living room and jumped off from the first floor," she said.

Loo explained that her house entrance was not secured with closed gates.

Cam's and Loo's case indicate how potential thieves and burglars have come to view the security of a typical Bruneian home owner an easy target.

Then there was a recent rumour of strangers impersonating Telekom Brunei Berhad's (TelBru) technicians visiting neighbourhoods house under the cover of fixing e-Speed service at the house.

The rumour was posted on social media Facebook, status updates to warn others of the incident.

Those who commented on the rumour posted their concerns that the impersonators are using the visits as a modus operandi to assess the security of the premise.

In order to protect her house from future attempts, Loo had taken security measures to beef up security.

"We are using metal grill for the kitchen window now. And we brought locks from a hardware store for windows with no grill," said Loo.

Although the measure may seem minimal, Loo said at least this will give "harder access" to her house.

Stories on crimes such as house thefts, trespassing, break-ins or even strangers holding you at knifepoint when you get out of the car to open the gates are practically unheard of in Brunei.

However, police logs covering the period of June 17 to July 2, showed 49 cases of theft reported primarily around private residences, government buildings, shops and shopping centre car parks.

The statistics should serve as a reminder to house owners that house security is one measure they should not miss out on.The Brunei Times