Theft has topped the list of reported crimes in the country in 2019. Surprising? Not so much. It is also not surprising that almost all of the perpetrators are unemployed locals. With no means of income, stealing is one available option for them to get easy bucks. So, the old saying “Crime Doesn’t Pay” may not mean much to thieves because the thefts they committed became the source of money they needed to pay out their debts, to buy mobile phone credits, to pay for drugs, to pay for online game tokens and online gambling, and other needs.

Stealing cars and car rims and tyres, looting metals and cables, and house break-ins have been the most committed types of theft and they still were in 2019. For the house break-ins, the most common entry mode is through the back kitchen or back toilet window. So get them grilled people. Once they gained entry to your home, the most targeted items would be your laptops, mobile phones, jewelleries and money, of course, including those in your coin banks. If you have safe box, they will swipe that too. If the house is empty, no CCTV would deter the thieves from getting on with their business. Stealing from houses where no one is home also gave thieves the opportunity to wheel in their cars and steal bigger items such as gas tanks, washing machines, TVs, vacuum cleaners and air conditioner units. So, your neighbours that you greeted with just eyebrow flashes, they are actually the ones who you could count on to watch your homes when you are away.

Other random items that were snatched by thieves in 2019 include a scooter, a perahu, a grass cutter machine, a drill machine, a water jet, fishing rods, a game console from JIS, a pipe valve from a garden, welding machines and a truck battery unit from a construction site, fire hydrants, and the most outlandish of them all – an excavator.

Stealing items at shops and supermarkets is something that could be happening everyday, even as we speak. It is a risk that shop owners have to live with. Interestingly however, from the admission of the shoplifters that were caught in 2019 in Brunei, the items that they stole are not for thrills or personal consumption, but to be sold for money. Talk about heeding the calls to have a “business mindset”. Among the items shoplifted in 2019 include perfumes, deodorants, wet and dry food, supplements and a mobile phone.

2019 saw fruits too being subjected to theft, with one case involving the theft of durians and the other involving the theft of mangoes. While the fate of the stolen durians is not known, the stolen mangoes ended up being sold at the market for $76. Imagine an icebreaking session in jail, when asked “What were you in for?” Errr….stealing fruits.

There was also an attempt to siphon fuel from a car’s tank. The guy, who worked as a security guard, must be really broke that he couldn’t afford to buy fuel.

Probably trying to reduce the risks of getting caught, thieves in 2019 also targeted unmanned infrastructure as in the case of an unemployed couple who broke into telecom towers and water tank area and made a loot of batteries, steel fence parts and cables. They nearly got away with it if it had not been for the instant karma they were served with when their car got stuck in the mud while trying to flee the scene.

There were three people who might have woken up that day with no plans to steal but succumbed to temptations when the opportunities were presented to them. A 22-year-old unemployed local was innocently riding his bicycle along Jalan Bengkurong area when he came upon an unattended road assistance vehicle with the engine running and key in the ignition. He wasted not time, ditched his bicycle and zoomed away with the car taking the one way street to a 2 year imprisonment at Maraburong Prison. Another man, 42-year-old local who earned a living by selling discarded cans, saw an unlocked bicycle just lying there unattended. Instead of just focusing on discarded cans, he also picked the bicycle and cycle his way to a 16 month imprisonment at Maraburong Prison. Meanwhile, a 67-year-old man who just got out of jail for theft, faced his demons again when while walking randomly in Mentiri, he noticed a man leaving his car with the  window down and the door unlocked, and a luscious looking backpack sitting inside the car. Well, we all know what happened next.

When laundromats made their debut in the country sometimes in 2017, it would be about time that the laundromats would be targeted by thieves. And in 2019, it eventually happened. Especially the 24-hour laundromats, those with no walls, are like whispering harmony to the thieves ears…come…steal something from me…. Again in this case, CCTVs wont do much deterrence as the thieves can just hide their looks by wearing hats or disguise, unless of course, you are the two thieves who stole from the Speed Queen Laundromat in Kg Lambak Kiri who didnt get to enjoy the $180 loot from the laundromat’s token machine as they were quickly identified from the CCTV footage and arrested.

A snatch theft was also committed, which is a more daring and perhaps desperate act of stealing. A man snatched a gold necklace worn by a one-year-old child while the child’s mother was distracted nearby.

2019 also saw 3 cases of mugging. Mugging is not good to be included in the list of crimes in Brunei because it scares tourists away. People want to feel save whether hitching a ride, walking alone at the back alley, just driving along the road or even praying in the public prayer room. In the first case, the poor victim trusted these two men who offered him a ride for $1. Instead of taking him to the intended destination, the two goons stopped at Mentiri Golf Club area and using a knife, mugged the guy of his money. In the second case, two men using a machete mugged a garbage disposal worker, and stole the guy’s handphone and some cash. In the third case, a man entered the female prayer room at the Athirah building in Batu Satu and armed with a knife, he grabbed a woman by the neck, covered her mouth, threatening her to stay quiet as he tried to steal the woman’s handbag.

Together with mugging, also shaking the core of our peace loving society are armed robberies which are still committed. Unlike cat burglars, these armed robbers have no plans to be discreet, they don’t need the darkness of the night and they used weapons to threaten and hurt the victims who are in their way from their loot. One case in 2019 was in Kg Kiudang in Tutong when an elderly woman who was home alone at that time was attacked in broad daylight by 2 intruders before they ran away with her jewelleries and other items. Those two men are still at large. In another case, a man at his home at Kg Kupang in Tutong was awoken at 3am by 2 intruders with one of them putting a machete against his throat. The robbers made away with the victim’s car which they later set on fire and ditched at Kg Kuala Lurah. Police managed to hunt and arrest the two robbers 12 hours after the incident.

All in all, among the lessons learnt from the 2019 theft incidents are:

1. Get your windows and doors grilled [no not barbecued, not scolded, get them fixed with steel barriers].
2. Safe boxes that are carryable are pointless.
3. Anything you put outside of your home is as good as gone.
4. Be friendly to your neighbours.
5. Don’t take your fruits for granted.
6. Your car’s fuel are vulnerable.
7. Telco towers are vulnerable.
8. Never leave your car with the engine still running.
9. Always lock your bicycle.
10. Laundromat owners to always empty their token machines.
11. Never get your eyes off your kids.
12. Never take rides from strangers.
13. Always keep your doors locked during the day even when you’re home.
14. Be aware of your surroundings when doing outdoor activities.

Diagnosis: The theft menace will not go away anytime soon. It has a positive correlation with unemployment and drugs abuse. If those two are still not mitigated, then no matter how many theft cases are solved, and how many thieves thrown into jail, there will still be thefts reported almost everyday. Drug addicts who are desperate to buy drugs will not think twice about committing thefts, even if they have to use violence, as long as they get the money. There are also thieves who are in and out of jail, even up to 7 times!, which only goes to show that the gain from stealing again had to be worth the risk of being caught again. It also goes to show that the Maraburong Prison is a place that they can survive without any psychological or emotional scar, no fear or phobia of being sent back in there. So, steal again they will.

Next: Smuggling activities