Saturday, August 11, 2007

HE WHO PAYS THE PIPER CALL THE TUNE ???

HANTU LAUT

Johor crime lord under restricted residence

KUALA LUMPUR: A crime lord from Johor has been placed under restricted residence in Jeli, Kelantan.

This came to light yesterday following his lawyer’s withdrawal of a habeas corpus application seeking his release from the Sungai Buloh Prison, where he has been held since his arrest on Aug 1.

The 55-year-old man, described as the head of one of the most powerful syndicates in the country and once regarded as “untouchable”, had been arrested by a special team of officers from Bukit Aman’s commercial crime department over his alleged involvement in illegal lottery activities in the Johor Baru district since March 2005.

The above was reported in the Star newspaper on 11th Aug 2007.

The question is should such powerful criminal be sent to restricted residence instead of prison?

There have been many cases where drug traffickers and organised crime bosses were given this ridiculous form of punishment which in the true sense is not a punishment at all. It is only an inconvenience. He can still carry on his criminal activities from the comfort of his so-called restricted residence and with today's modern technology his presence is not necessary as the goons and hatchet men can do the work for him and his underworld empire will continue to flourish unhindered.

It is difficult to comprehend how the ISA can be invoked on political opponents and detained in prison and can't be used on crime bosses who are a danger to society and risk to national security. As usual the police will always say they didn't have sufficient evidence to charge them in court or, was it a case of not doing enough, to find the evidence. If such is the case, why not use the ISA ? Maybe we should ask the Minister of Home Affairs and the IGP why such criminal, in the absence of solid evidence, are not charged under the ISA.

This particular crime boss from Johor was sent to Jeli in Kelantan.A small town where most things can be bought for a price. Criminal of this calibre will gain respectability in a small town very quickly and can influence those he needs to do his dirty job. One have to read Lynn Pan's Old Shanghai (Gangsters in Paradise) to understand how powerful and influential crime bosses can be.

Du Yuesheng also known as "Jung Sai"(Boss of the Underworld) was China's most notorious secret society chief. He was so powerful and influential, he amassed more wealth and an empire bigger than that of the American gangster, Al Capone.His underworld empire controlled gambling, prostitution, protection racket and opium trade. His influence extend to government ,mainstream society and the military .Even Chiang Kai-Shek used him and his Green gang to execute pro-communists in Shanghai.As a reward for his service Chiang appointed him to the 'Board of Opium Suppression Bureau'. Du also supported the Nationalist government with funding and they allowed him to continue with his criminal activities without any intervention.After a while Du got disillusioned with Chiang and switched allegiance and worked with the Communists. When he realized the time will come when the Communist will eventually kill him for what he did to their supporters in the past, he escaped to Hongkong and later die there.

How far is Jeli from Johor? Would you consider this as a punishment for someone who probably had committed every single type of crime under the sun? If he can't leave Jeli to attend to his business in Johor I am sure his henchmen can come to Jeli and report to him personally. He will eventually, after paying his way through, be able to return to Johor for short undetected visits.If Abdullah Ng can leave Pudu Prison in a chauffeur-driven car during his confinement this one......you better believe it..is no sweat!

If the police really want to seriously inconvenient him why can't he be sent across the South China Sea to a small town in the interior of Sabah or Sarawak which would give him a bit more logistic problem.

What the police are doing and they don't seem bothered at all are giving credence to the allegations in Raja Petra's Malaysia Today. It looks like Raja Petra is a better policeman than the police.

No comments: