A street child is seen harassing motorists and risking her life along the busy Jalan Tuaran at 11am today.
KOTA KINABALU: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew expressed alarm over the recent spate of crimes committed in broad daylight.
“Please tighten the security in and around the State capital, intensify police patrolling, install more closed circuit television (CCTV) facilities, improve street lightings, do anything possible to make Kota Kinabalu a safer city,” she appealed.
She said of late, there were car smashing incidents along Jalan Gaya, and robberies all over the KK City involving both tourists and locals, and causing serious injuries to the victims, as well as attempted burglaries in housing areas.
“I am absolutely appalled at the outrageous acts of the robbers in challenging the authorities outrightly. Sadly, the last two incidents in the city indicated that would-be criminals were getting brazen and targeting locals. It could strike fear in the hearts of shoppers and visitors, and we don’t want this to happen.
“The horrifying nature of robberies, in which a woman was brutally attacked, would not only earn a ‘bad’ name for Gaya Street but would also scare off potential tourists.
“And on Thursday morning, even a commercial bank was not spared. The crime committed at the Maybank premises at Kg Air is atrocious. As such, it is vital to avert an insecure environment where KK residents, particularly city dwellers, live in fear. We cannot allow this dangerous situation to escalate into something beyond our control,” Liew said in a statement today.
The Api-Api Assemblywoman said Gaya Street is a historic street, and a popular destination with locals and tourists alike.
“The crowd at the Api-Api Night Food Market on Fridays and Saturdays is now back to the pre-pandemic level, and vendors are doing a brisk business. Let us not allow criminal activities to be a ‘spoiler’,” she added.
Liew looks forward to the revived Tourist Police Unit being deployed to strategic locations in the city, including Gaya Street, to restore public safety and to keep street kids at bay.
