TechEd 2008: Mugged in KL, Malaysia
It was only 6 hours after we arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia via TranstiStar bus lines (1st class!) for the Microsoft TechEd 2008 event, when we were robbed, or rather, my wife’s handbag was snatched from her by one motorcycle riding man.
We were walking from the hotel to St Andrew Church and just crossed the road (jalan ismael) and walking along Jalan P. Ramlee when the thief struck. This was in broad daylight in a busy street (it was 6.10 pm)
He wore a helmet so we did not get to see him/her. A passerby was nice enough to direct us to a nearby police outpost. This outpost was a few meters away, so we were able to report the incident within a few minutes.
The outpost relayed it to the Malaysian tourist police. In a few minutes, a police patrol car came by to fetch us and we went to the tourist police office to report the incident. Sad to say, I missed my church service.
At the tourist police station, we waited in line as there was a family ahead of us that was also attacked by a strangely similar mugger roughly one hour ahead of us, in the same area!
Due to the shock of the situation, neither me nor my wife was able to take down the license plate. Our good fortune is that the family that was attacked earlier had a local witness who jotted down the license plate of their attacker. I have full confidence that the Malaysian police can use this to easily solve the case.
The police at the tourist police force were efficient, courteous and a saving grace for the mishap that happened to us. I commend them for the advice they gave us and the kind treatment and attention they gave to me and my wife.
So for you guys out there that are walking the streets in KL, please walk on the sidewalk AWAY from the road to avoid motorcycle snatching incident.
Oh yes, we were walking in the same direction as the vehicular traffic. This made the attackers attack us from behind. So the next time, we will walk facing the oncoming traffic. This way we will see what is coming towards us in the future.
As we are in Malaysia to attend the TechEd 2008, my suggestion to Microsoft, in the future, can you consider a safer country like Singapore for your next event? (Just wondering guys!)
Filed under: Computing, Security
