Teenage Criminals On The Rise In Brunei

Bandar Seri Begawan – Youth offenders, aged 18 and below and are mainly students, are on the rise every year, the police said yesterday.

Some 520 out of 600 criminal cases against persons in the Sultanate were successfully solved last year, police said yesterday.

These offences comprised of murder, kidnappings, abuses or batteries, rapes, outraging modesty or obscenity, causing serious injuries and slight bodily harm.

Out of the 600 cases, only 5 were murder cases some of which had already been solved.

There was only one kidnapping case reported during the year. The case was duly solved.

Year 2004 also recorded 16 abuse or battery cases against children either committed by their own parents, caretakers or maids. To date, only six cases have been solved.

The year also saw 21 rape cases of which 17 were solved. A total of 30 people were arrested in connection to these cases.

Meanwhile, 30 cases of outraging modesty or obscenity were reported last year. Of the total, only seven have been solved to date. The offences were committed either physically in person, or through telephone or the internet.

The police also revealed that there were 13 cases of causing serious injuries during the same year, of which nine had been solved.

Offences involving slight bodily harm recorded the highest occurrences, numbering over 500 cases or 82.5 per cent of all reported cases.

A total of 119 of these cases involved wife beatings while 34 cases involved maids beaten by their employers. One hundred seventeen arrests were made.

Thefts topped all offences against property last year when 1,052 cases were reported and resulted in 236 arrests. Of this figure, only 153 cases were solved. The thefts were committed through various modus operandi such as shop-lifting, pick-pocketing and by threats.

Second in this category were house break-ins and thefts of which 498 cases were reported. Only 53 cases were solved and 108 arrests were made. Offenders in this category were mostly unemployed locals and habitual offenders. -- Courtesy of Radio Television Brunei

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