Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Armed robbery in Singapore

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Armed robbery in Singapore

There are more armed robbery and serious crimes in Singapore. They are a sign of hard times. People are becoming desperate, and have to resort to crime.

Sometimes, I wonder if the large number of foreign workers earning low wages in Singapore increase the exposure to criminal activities.

What can we do? We have to find more effective ways to help people to cope with inflation and high cost of living, for our locals and foreign workers.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...: ...outcome of unexpected high inflation facing us now here in Singapore. Prices of almost all daily essentials are upped. But, I think our government and VWOs are doing something to help.

...yes, there may be more armed robberies and serious crimes, but there are far far more people who choose not to commit any crime despite of dire situation. They deserve our respect !!!; April 10, 2008 7:11 AM
Anonymous said...: It is very sad that some people seduced to commit crime just to get more money. Money is the root of all evil?

starlight; April 10, 2008 8:29 AM
Anonymous said...: I really felt that the influx of foreign workers especially those taking jobs in the low to mid range salary tier has made it very competitive for fellow locals. It is both a good and bad thing.

Competition is good as it breeds innovation but what if times are bad and both foreign and locals are competing for the same jobs? Priority should be given to citizens.; April 10, 2008 9:38 AM
Anonymous said...: Two weeks ago, I return home (HDB) at 12 mid-night. My branded slipper was left outside the corridor. Early morning, my slipper was missing! My neighbour, a "karongguni" man, said it was "taken" by foreigh worker. He said some time a foreign worker would exchange his slipper with you for a better one and left his torn one behind !; April 10, 2008 12:25 PM
Anonymous said...: Yes, I believe the relevant govt agency should look into whether there is any co-relation between the influx of low-wage Foreign Talents versus the crime rates in Singapore.

What is disturbing to me for this armed robbery report is the lack of a description of the suspects. I remember way back in 1990s, when any major crime is reported, the news would flash out the suspects profile/face as identified by the victim. A bioprofile of the suspects would also be done like CHINESE, INDIAN etc.

However, if you look at the current one, the police are asking people to look out for suspects that fits a certain physical profile (but left out the nationality or race). It just raises doubt over :-
1) Is the police lacking in investigative capabilities to see that race or nationality is an important criteria in recognising or narrowing the target for the public.
2) Assuming the police did have a nationality/race tied to the suspect, was there controlled reporting by the media so as not to allow the general populace to link a certain nationality/race/agenda to the crime rate in singapore?; April 10, 2008 4:37 PM
Anonymous said...: A Singapore "Karongguni" has to compete with international "karongguni" from Batam & China. They do their business here with tourist visa or dependant social pass.; April 11, 2008 9:25 AM
Anonymous said...: I visited Pattaya Beach (Thailand) 2 months ago. Before I leave for Pattaya from Bangkok (300km apart) , a Malaysia Chinese working in hotel, warn me of high crime at Pattaya. She said those who commit crime are not Thais, they are from neibourhood countries. When I arrive at a Pattaya hotel, I read a feature report written by expatriate, the article reported 20 murders during weekend. Those target are both local and international tourist. The same thing happen in Phuket (Thailand) daily. Pattaya, Phuket, Krabi etc are tourist attaction without casino. It attracted billion dollars each year without world class facility/talent! It's easy money - no high tech, no investment risk & least depreciation cost.

We will have Integrate Resort soonest. It will bring us more tourist dollars. This is vital to sustain econ development if sucessful for long long time hopefully. Will we have a safe place with lower crime than today?; April 11, 2008 10:55 AM
Anonymous said...: All the crimes of armed robbery ,you forget that a more insidious crime is committed every day, every minute perhaps, every where at roadshows, robbery you may not call robbery becuase you think force is used. This is more gentle and subtle that the victims don't even know. This is legalised daylight roberry.; April 11, 2008 6:44 PM