Thieves Now Surf Net For Victims
By Hadi DP Mahmud

Bandar Seri Begawan - Thieves have become techsavvy and some Bruneians have already fallen victim to this trend, losing valuables to friends they meet online.

The Brunei District Police has warned the public not to trust people they meet via web-based messaging services too easily, noting that their recent investigations have shown criminals have preferred online chatting to find unsuspecting victims in the country.

Such crimes have been on the rise since June, according to ASP Pg Abd Salam bin Pg Hj Abd Ghani, a crime investigation officer.

"An example of the crime scenario would be a suspect chatting to a would-be victim and making friends through online messaging services, such as MSN Messenger and mIRC, he said, referring to the thieves' modus operandi. 'A week later they may decide to meet each other in person - let's say they decide to hang out at a cafe. The suspect would ask the victim if he/she could borrow the victim's cellphone. Without the victim realising it, the suspect would vanish with the phone."

In the past week, the Brunei District Police has been kept on their toes after arresting nine locals who were involved in three separate cases of house and car burglaries.

According to Acting Senior Superintendent Pg Hj Rakit bin Pg Hj Osman, the district commanding officer, said four local males were involved in a house burglary a week ago.

"On October 13, another three local males were arrested for breaking into a vehicle and stealing valuables. The next day, a local male and a female were apprehended for a series of mobile phone thefts which had been reported to the police recently," Pg Hj Rakit said.

"In relation to this, there are several more suspects who are still at large," he added.

The offenders, aged between 19 to 42 are all unemployed, according to ASP Hj Mohd Khairul Amilin bin Hj Idris, the assistant crime investigation officer.

"Some of them have criminal records, and have been sentenced to imprisonment in the past," said the officer.

He added that the arrests will aid investigations on several theft cases reported to the Brunei District Police in Tutong, Jerudong, Berakas and Muara.

Several items were recovered, including Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, DVD players, camcorders and jewellery. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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