Rogue security guards in focus

The Malaysian authorities are coming down hard on security firms following the tragic case of 37-year-old AmBank officer Norazita Abu Talib who was shot in the head by a guard.

Following the shooting, the Home Ministry revoked the operating license of the security firm— the company was found to have failed to conduct proper screenings and did not obtain licenses for their armed guards.

The ministry now is also going through the 751 registered companies for any wrongdoings and has embarked on a nationwide special operation, Ops ID, since Oct 29.

The Immigration Department also seems to be hard at work on the same issue:

• Yesterday, 15 security guards were detained at the Pavilion shopping complex. They “had abused their social visit passes, while the rest did not even posses valid travel documents or passes”, according to the Immigration Department. A director of a security company, aged 28, was also detained and would be charged for hiring and protecting these foreign workers
• On Wednesday, Penang Immigration swept through a dozen residential areas and hauled up 20 illegal immigrants including 12 Nepalese. They were allegedly working as security guards and used fake ID cards.
• Also on Wednesday, the Negeri Sembilan Immigration department detained 24 Nepalese security guards in an operation today for not having valid travel documents or abusing their social visit passes.

While the increased enforcement is a positive reaction, the issue of rogue security guards is not a new phenomenon.

It may come as a shock to some when police said the guard who shot Norazita had a fake IC, but the apparent lack of proper vetting of many security firms has been highlighted in the media for years.

It also is no guarded secret that the worrying crime rate and the short supply of qualified employees has directly led to the hiring of more foreigners and shady characters.

While the Government policy is that the nationality of security guards can only be locals, Nepalese ex-soldiers (Gurkhas), there are obviously many who don't fall under those categories who work guards

Currently about 150,000 locals and 5,000 Nepalese Gurkhas were employed as legitimate security guards in the country. How many are illegitimate?

The 2012 Auditor-General’s Report highlighted that of 35 audited schools, one security guard was found to have criminal record while 76 were unable to furnish security clearance from the nearest police station or the Home Ministry to prove that they had no criminal record.

With the focus now on rogue security guards, Astro AWANI revisits some of the recent reported cases:

Nov 1: Two Filipino security guards are sentenced to a month’s jail each by the Magistrate Court for using fake identity cards.

Oct 23: AmBank officer Norazita Abu Talib,37, is shot in the head at close range by a security guard at USJ Sentral 2, Subang Jaya at 6.20pm on Oct 23. The killer escapes with RM450,000 taken from the vault. The CCTV recording of the entire incident goes viral online.

Oct 30, 2012: A 53-year-old security guard discharges a pump-action shotgun at a bank in Jalan Datok Keramat. The shots strikes the plywood floor.

April 19, 2012: Four security guards in Johor Bahru are arrested after a hypermarket claims that they made off with RM79,363.95 handed over to them supposed to be deposited into the bank account.

On April 12, 2012: Eight security guards, aged between 20 and 35, are arrested by police after they had made off with RM462,000 in a security van in front of a bank in Jalan Niaga in Kota Tinggi.

Jan 23, 2012: An armed security guard, believed to be high on drugs, is arrested after a scuffle with police in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur.

Nov 11, 2011: A customer is wounded when a shotgun, belonging to a security guard, went off at a bank at Taman Sentosa, Johor.