One vehicle stolen every 75 minutes in Malaysia, study shows

A vehicle is stolen in Malaysia every one hour 15 minutes, according to Vehicle Theft Reduction Council of Malaysia Bhd (VTREC) coordinator Mas Tina Abdul Hamid.

She said a study conducted by VTREC last year found that 20 vehicles were stolen each day in 2020.

“However, the number has dropped following close cooperation between VTREC, the police and other agencies,” she told reporters after the launch of the PDRM-VTREC Vehicle Theft Awareness Campaign in Kuala Lumpur today.

Meanwhile, deputy director (intelligence/dperations) of the Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department, Dev Kumar, said the number of reported vehicle thefts nationwide had shown a decline each year.

“There were 21,578 vehicle thefts reported last year compared to 30,868 cases in 2019, showing an overall decline of 30%.

“The number involved the theft of 4,596 cars, 16,057 motorcycles and 925 lorries, vans and heavy vehicles,” he added.

Meanwhile, he said action had been taken under the Crime Prevention Act (Poca) 1959 against 1,215 members of vehicle theft syndicates since 2016, apart from those members who had been charged in court for the same offence.

The number comprised 753 who stole motorcycles and 422 who stole cars while the rest stole other vehicles.

On the Lanun Merah Black Maria 360 Gang, said to be involved in dumping garbage and toxic waste, drug trafficking and smuggling of illegal immigrants in Pandamaran, Klang, Dev said investigations are still at the early stage and that further information is being gathered.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani previously said that an investigation paper had been opened on the alleged re-emergence of the gang, said to have at least 500 members and to be involved in various forms of organised crime in the Klang area since 2013.