Gated and guarded, and lulled into false sense of safety

LIVING in a gated-and-guarded community may not ensure the safety and security of your property and belongings as residents of USJ Heights in Subang Jaya discovered in the last two years.

The community has state-of-the-art facilities including a QR code registration for visitors, cameras at strategic locations, electric and perimeter fencing as well as round-the-clock security surveillance.

Despite all these safety measures, residents here have been victims of an organised crime syndicate that has left them baffled.

This year alone, six houses were broken into in a span of five months; only two houses escaped this spate of burglaries. Two of the houses were hit on the same night. Similarly, in early 2016, three houses were also broken into on the same night.

Living in fear, the residents spoke to StarMetro on condition of anonymity, hoping to warn others who live in the gated-and-guarded neighbourhood.

Two of the latest victims said they were shocked that the presence of two foreign cars in their neighbourhood went unnoticed for more than an hour during the incident on July 29.

Upon discovering that their homes were ransacked, they questioned the security guards who revealed that two unknown continental cars passed through the residents lane at the entrance.

“We believe one car used a transponder while the second car tailgated the first. It is amazing how the security guards did not find anything amiss with their behaviour,” said a victim, known only as Lai.

He said he left his house that night at 8.30pm for an unplanned dinner and came back an hour later to find his doors ajar and lights on.

He alerted the security guards who came unarmed, using just a broomstick to confront the robbers. After a thorough check, they realised the robbers had fled. Lai then asked the guards to comb the area.

“When they were out looking for them, they spotted the two cars. However, after a quick chase, the guards said the cars rammed through the barricade at the entrance and made their getaway,” he said.

Lai said there was no way they could have known beforehand that his house would be empty as he did not have a set schedule.

In fact, he could see from his own CCTV footage that the thieves were rather nonchalant and even had time to do a few burpees on the lawn before making off with his goods.

The other victim, known only as Sheila, said she left her house at 7pm to pick up her maid from the KL International Airport and returned at 10.15pm after dinner.

The robbers looted all her jewellery, opened the safe and cut off her Astro decoder and CCTV camera recorder.

“I managed to obtain CCTV footage from my neighbours since my main cameras were not working. The thieves looked like Caucasians or Latin Americans. They were tall and looked very relaxed,” she said.

Sheila added that another footage caught them walking coolly back to a black BMW while drinking from a bottle of water.

The robbers were also seen attempting to break into four other houses, but ran off on realising that the houseowners were home.

They appeared fit and athletic as they jumped over fences and high walls with relative ease.

All this does not add up as there is only one entry and exit post in the neighbourhood.

One of the victims of the robberies in 2016 said the robbers managed to cart off a 50kg safe box from his home before jumping over his lawn fence and driving off.

He said it was surprising that the guards did not detect an unknown car parked in the neighbourhood.

Residents are upset that most of their security features do not work, including the CCTV at the front gate, the Centralised Monitoring System (CMS) as well as their intercom that is connected to the guard post.

The security facilities and services were provided by the developer from the outset as part and parcel of the sale of the houses in USJ Heights.

The houseowners are also disappointed that the security guards and the developer are lax about the entire issue.

Most of the victims have lodged police reports, but were shocked to hear the police describe the intruders as “locals”.

They said some of the CCTV footage clearly showed the face of one of the burglars who did not have Asian features at all.

“Moreover, the act of cutting off the Astro decoder did not make sense unless they knew that it was linked to the CCTV recorder,” said Sheila.

The residents only took over the maintenance of the security and the guards last year, and refused to accept the task of maintaining the equipment such as the CCTVs until they were fixed.

He added that the developer must hand over the amenities “in working order” to the residents association. Besides, there is no legal document to state that the handover has been completed.

He also said this was a good reminder to all residents that they should know their rights as housebuyers to ensure the promised goods and services are kept in working order for their benefit.

“We want people to know that living in a gated-and-guarded community is not foolproof,” he added.

A spokesman for Sime Darby USJ Development Sdn Bhd said they handed over the CCTV cameras and the electrical perimeter fence system located within USJ Heights to the USJ Heights Residents Association (USJHRA) on July 31 last year.

“The security system was in good working order at the time of handover, and as agreed, will be maintained by the USJHRA accordingly.

“In fact, maintenance of the security services were extended from Oct 30, 2014 to July 31, 2017 without any extra charges to ensure it was in good working condition prior to the handover.

“An official notice was also delivered to the USJHRA chairman two weeks prior to the handover,” added the spokesman.

Living in a gated-and-guarded community may not ensure the safety of your property as residents of USJ Heights discovered in the last two years. One of the houses that was ransacked in USJ Heights was turned upside down in just 20 minutes.

This year alone six houses in USJ Heights were broken into in a span of five months, with only two houses escaping the spate of burglaries.

METRO NEWS
By Priya Menon
Thursday, 6 Sep 2018
https://www.thestar.com.my

TAGS / KEYWORDS:
Central Region , Usj Heights , Selangor , Break Ins

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2018/09/06/lulled-into-false-sense-of-safety-despite-paying-for-security-facilities-residents-in-usj-heights-ar/#9S7L8zC1VLOsRfzw.99