MP: Sarawak gangsters making a comeback

(NST) KUCHING: The gangs are back. So claims Bintulu member of parliament Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, the man who dealt organised crime gangs in the state a big blow two years ago.

He said the gangs had begun reorganising themselves and some were back in business.

Tiong, at an event to mark Teachers Day in Bintulu on Friday, said gang leaders released after their two-year term of restricted residence under the Emergency Ordinance had begun reorganising their gangs.

These gangs were thrown into disarray following a major anti-crime drive after Tiong raised the matter in Parliament.

The drive, code-named Ops Cantas Kenyalang, targeted gangs that were said to be involved in vice, loan shark business, alcohol smuggling, illegal logging, drug trafficking, extortion, assault, gambling, bribery and other illegal activities.
Between April and July 2007, nine gang leaders and 283 gangsters were rounded up.

Of these, 145 were brought to court while the majority of the "generals" were placed in restricted residence.

Tiong, who is chairman of the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club, said he had received numerous complaints from rural folk in his constituency.

Some of the complainants came from as far away as Sibu and Kuching.

He said some gangs were active again in forcing the rural farmers to sell their farm produce and jungle commodities at prices the gangs had fixed.

Calling on the police to look into the problem, he said the return of the gangs would bring Ops Cantas Kenyalang "to nought".

Tiong also took a swipe at the police for their alleged failure to take down reports lodged by the farmers against the gangsters.

He claimed the farmers had been discouraged from lodging reports by the police who said the matter was trivial.