The Star, Wednesday February 29, 2012

Fines for illegal renovations on hold

THE Kajang Municipal Council has delayed issuing fines for illegal house renovations until March 31 to sort certain problems.

Councillor S.T. Chandra Mohan said 22,913 of the 75,000 houses checked had done renovations and 3,864 carried out without a permit.

He said the fines was a penalty for late submission of plans.

The penalty varies according to the plan fee which is determined by the size of renovation work. Offenders can be fined between five and 20 times the fee.

“There were a few problems when the fines were imposed. Some told us that the illegal renovation was done by the previous owner.

“We need to sort out these problems before issuing fines,” he told reporters after the council’s full board meeting.

Council president Datuk Hassan Nawawi Abdul Rahman said there were eight residents duped by Indonesian contractors who told them they had obtained the necessary permits, which were actually fake ones.

Hasan also said the Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) factory could not cope with the amount of waste and landfill operators were looking for another site to build a sanitary landfill.

“Of the 500 tonnes of rubbish generated daily in the municipality, 30% cannot be processed.

“The landfill operator is considering buying 4.86ha of land near the RDF,” he said.

Councillor Steven Chan highlighted the issue of stray dogs caught by dog catchers hired by the council that were locked up in a lorry since Saturday with inadequate food. The dogs have since been fed.

The term for councillors end today but Hasan said the council had yet to receive the list of new councillors.

“Maybe it will be finalised during next week’s meeting.

“It is still business as usual. There will be no problems while waiting for the list to be finalised. We were without councillors for three months after the last general election,” he said.

Several explosions heard as fire razes LPG plant in Semenyih

The Star, Monday, 28 Feb 2011

Several explosions heard as fire razes LPG plant

SEMENYIH: Several explosions were heard as fire blazed through a liquefied petroleum gas bottling plant on Tuesday.

Witnesses said they saw gas cylinders flying into the air and exploding after the fire started at about 8.30pm.

The fire blasted the plant, razing it to the ground and gutting a nearby lorry which was also loaded with cylinders of gas used for cooking. A car and motorcycle was also found burnt.

Firemen put out the blaze by 10pm and there was no report of casualties or injuries, said Kajang OCPD ACP Abdul Rashid Wahab.

He said police were checking to see if the facility, which started operating about six weeks ago, had an operating license as it appeared to lack the basic of safety features.

Police were also looking for the operator of the plant who has gone missing, he said.

The entire area has been cordoned off as police and firemen check the ruins.

Friday February 24, 2012

House break-in gang and leader held

KAJANG: Staying at budget hotels before committing break-ins, the gang led by a man with six fingers also painstakingly carried out surveillance on houses they had targeted.

Police crippled the “Six Fingers” gang when they arrested the 36-year-old leader and four gang members, including a woman.

They had committed at least 13 break-ins in Kajang, Rinching, Sungai Jelok and Semenyih since early last year.

Tools of the trade: ACP Abdul Rashid showing a fake pistol and tools seized from the gang in Kajang yesterday.

 

OCPD Asst Comm Abdul Rashid Abdul Wahab said the gang monitored unoccupied houses.

“We seized a host of weapons and house break-in tools including a fake pistol, parang, baseball bat, knives,, hammer, pliers, screwdrivers and paraphernalia to consume drugs.

“The gang members are experts in break-ins and would attack the owners if they returned home,” he said yesterday.

He added that all the suspects had convictions for break-ins, theft, possession of dangerous weapons and drug-related offences.

ACP Abdul Rashid said urine tests on all the suspects, aged between 28 and 36, came back positive for meth and opiate abuse.

He said four of the suspects, including the leader, were detained at a budget hotel in Semenyih at about 3am on Feb 13.

In a follow-up operation on the same day, another suspect was picked up at a house in Rinching.

ACP Abdul Rashid said police also busted the notorious “Bumper Gang” who staged fake accidents before robbing motorists of their vehicles.

He said two gang members, aged 24 and 25, were detained during a 5km high-speed chase which ended at a construction site in Bandar Teknologi Kajang on Feb 14.

He added that initial investigations showed the gang was responsible for at least 16 car robbery cases, mostly involving Toyota Vios and Camry, in the Klang Valley.

ACP Abdul Rashid said the gang’s modus operandi was to ram into the back of a vehicle driven by a lone driver during odd hours before one of them alighted, pretending to apologise.

He said other accomplices would charge out brandishing dangerous weapons to threaten the victim before speeding of with the car.

The Star, Saturday February 11, 2012

Clean up vacant houses, MPKj urged

THE Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) has been urged to clean up the unsightly compound of a few vacant houses in Taman Suria Jaya, Cheras.

Serdang MCA Public and Services Complaints Bureau chairman Allan Liew said such units posed safety and health risks to the residents nearby.

He said burglars could sneak into neighbouring houses through the roof of the vacant lots.

Unsightly: Liew (right) is urging MPKj to clean up the vacant houses. With him is Mohd Noordin.

 

“The MPKj should search the records and contact the house owners. If the units are not sold, the council should then take the responsibility to maintain the place,” he said.

Taman Suria Jaya Muslim Residents Association chairman Mohd Noordin Mohd Idrus said one of the houses in Jalan Bunga Mawar 9 had always been vacant since he moved in 18 years ago.

The house owner owed MPKj about RM1,900 of assessment.

“We do not know who owns the house. The residents also sealed the entrance of the house with wooden planks to prevent drug addicts from entering the premises,” Mohd Noordin said.

He said there were three or four dengue cases in the residential area last year and the MPKj was notified of the vacant lots.

Serdang MCA deputy chairman Datuk Hoh Hee Lee said the councils had the right to clean up the units and then bill the cost to the house owners.

MPKj councillor Steven Chan said the council was tracing the owners of the vacant units.

“If they do not clean up and settle the compound, the council will clear the mess on their behalf and charge them,” he said.

The NST, Thursday, 9 February 2012

MPKj to act against project developer

KAJANG: The developer of Kelisa Ria low-cost flats in Sungai Tangkas has been given two weeks by the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) to come forward and settle all problems.

Iskandar Abdul Samad Pic by Farizul Hafiz Awang

Selangor state executive councillor Iskandar Abdul Samad said failure to do so will  force MPKj to confiscate the land.

Iskandar visited the abandoned project recently to discuss matters with MPKj and the Bangi state assemblyman, Dr Shafie Abu Bakar.

Iskandar said the project was   abandoned since July last year.

"The project was scheduled to be completed by 2005. However, it was left idle after 80 per cent of the work was done," said Iskandar.

"Until now, the developer has not   come to any of the meetings or  on-site visits. It has also failed to pay the land tax since 2005," he said.

Iskandar  said the property is valued at RM42,000.

Some of the 500  flat buyers have come forward  to lodge complaints to Shafie.

"Last September, about 20 flat purchasers came to me to find  a solution because they  have been paying for the flats since 2005, " said Shafie.

He said 420 units have been sold, while the remaining 80 units are still available for sale.

The 6.7ha Kelisa Ria project consists of five blocks of low-cost flats. 

Saturday February 4, 2012

Four caught in the act of stealing ATM

KAJANG: A Colombian gang skilled in disabling sophisticated alarm systems before carting away ATM machines was caught in the act by police.

Policemen in Bandar Teknologi Kajang spotted the gang members trying to load an ATM machine, containing some RM200,000, into their rented Cherry Eastar car at 1.10am on Jan 28.

Hard evidence: ACP Abdul Rashid (right) holding up the cables used to drag out an ATM machine in Bandar Teknologi Kajang yesterday.

 

A scuffle ensued before police managed to arrest one of the suspects, aged 35, said district police chief Asst Comm Abdul Rashid Abdul Wahab.

Three other gang members escaped in a car.

Police believed the gang was responsible for similar thefts in the Klang Valley.

“The group would rent cars and mark out their targets.

“The arrested suspect had entered the country illegally,” he said yesterday.

ACP Abdul Rashid said the gang was adept in disabling the alarm system before using cables hooked to their car to drag out the ATM machine.

He said police were hunting down the remaining gang members with the assistance of the Immigration Department.

In a separate case, a snatch thief who targeted working women having breakfast around Sungai Long and Batu 11, Cheras, was caught on Tuesday.

The suspect, aged 38, had committed at least 10 snatch thefts in those areas.

“He has four previous convictions for drugs, motorcycle theft and cheating.

“We seized a stolen motorcycle and the suspect tested positive for drugs,” said ACP Abdul Rashid.

The Star, Saturday February 4, 2012

Three robbery gangs busted

KAJANG: Three gangs that were terrorising business outlets and committing armed robberies have been busted in a sting operation in several parts of the Klang Valley over the past week.

OCPD Asst Comm Abdul Rashid Abdul Wahab said the gangs were Gang Apek, Gang Topui and Gang Water.

He said four members of Gang Apek, including a couple, were detained in Kuala Kubu Baru, Seri Kembangan and Damai Perdana.

He said the gang was responsible for at least four car-jacking cases involving luxury vehicles.

“The gang last struck on Jan 12, where a businessman was robbed of his RM300,000 Audi TTS car in Balakong, Cheras.

“We tracked the hideouts of the gang members before arresting a couple on Jan 27, and the others the following day.

“The stolen car had been disposed of in Thailand,” he said yesterday.

ACP Abdul Rashid said one of the suspects, aged 24, had three previous convictions for selling pirated VCDs and rioting.

He said the gang had been active for the past one year in Bandar Puteri Puchong, Jalan Klang Lama and Balakong.

“All the suspects, aged between 24 and 31, have been remanded,” he said.

ACP Abdul Rashid said Gang Topui (Fat Gang) was called thus as the members were plump.

He said the gang mainly robbed chain outlets and convenience stores in the wee hours over the past one year.

“The gang had committed 10 such robberies using stolen motorcycles.

“Three gang members were detained in a series of raids in Batu 11, Cheras, Sg Long and Taman Cheras Perdana while an accomplice was arrested for helping to dispose of stolen cigarettes,” he said, adding that police recovered 118 boxes of cigarettes and two knives.

ACP Abdul Rashid said two of them had previous convictions for robberies.

The Gang Water members worked with a utility company.

He said three of the members were arrested separately in Rawang, Sri Andalas and Puchong.

“One of them had been detained earlier over a botched RM553,000 security van robbery using a fake pistol in Bandar Baru Bangi on Jan 25.

“He led us to the arrest of his three accomplices,” he said, adding that all the four suspects, aged between 25 and 33, had been remanded.