Malaysia has never seen a week like this before: seven shootings in seven days, most of them execution-style by hitmen, and at least two of them high-profile victims.
The latest shooting happened just hours ago, at 1.30 pm in Cheras Perdana.
Ex-convict B Balamurali, 36, was shot three times in the chest by two men who had entered his home and shot him in the living room.
“The two suspects then fled the scene on a Yamaha LC motorcycle,” said Kajang police chief ACP Abdul Rashid Abdul Wahab.
Balamurali had just been released from prison in June and it is learnt that the victim had six previous convictions for theft and drug-related cases.
The rising number of brazen shootings has shocked the nation for the pace at which it has been going on in the past seven days, triggering calls for the police to refocus their energy on fighting crime, instead of summoning bloggers and dog handlers and human rights activists.
However, opposition leaders have criticised the police for depending on preventive laws and not upping their investigative efforts to put criminals behind bars.
It was reported that there have been more than 20 cases of shootings by gunmen over the past few months but seven of them were in these past seven days, and they included a high-profile activist and a banker.
Last Saturday, crime watchdog MyWatch chairman R Sri Sanjeevan was shot once in the chest by a pillion rider when he stopped his BMW at a traffic light in Taman Cempaka, Negeri Sembilan, at about 4.30pm. Seriously injured, he is now reported to be in a stable condition.
A day later, security firm owner Jasrafveendeerjeet Singh, 25, was killed when a gunman fired at least four shots at him. The shots also injured two of his friends who were having drinks at a restaurant in Ipoh.
The next day, a gunman crept up behind Arab Malaysian Banking Group founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi and his wife as they emerged from the Kuan Yin Temple in Lorong Ceylon in Kuala Lumpur. The 75-year-old banker took two shots in the chest and died on the spot. His wife was injured.
G Santhana Samy was shot in his right thigh by a gunman while driving in Jalan Mengkuang, Bukit Mertajam on the same day. He was taken to Kulim Hospital for treatment.
On Wednesday, a factory van driver, N Jeevandran, 26, was found dead, with two gunshot wounds on his body in Jalan Permai Utama, Parit Buntar.
Yesterday, a gold merchant Wong Foo Yui escaped with only a bullet wound on his shoulder despite being shot at three times by an assailant, when he stopped at a traffic light in Pandan Indah, Ampang at 8.45am.
Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) chief executive Datuk Seri Idris Jala had responded to the spate of shooting cases, declaring that the government will start intercepting communications and electronically monitor suspects out on bail under new security provisions.
He said the government will use existing laws until new legislation can be introduced to act against serious and organised crime, disclosing that the Criminal Procedure Code had a new provision that allowed interception of communications to enhance the capabilities of law enforcement officers to compile evidence against organised and violent crime offenders. – August 3, 2013.-TMI