Pregnant white women and the muggers of Malaysia.

I have observed that pregnant white women are much in demand among the muggers of Malaysia. We don't know that many people, really, but two of our friends, who happen to be pregnant white women, have been mugged in Malaysia. Interestingly, I can't recall any of our non pregnant, or non white women, in our acquaintance, being mugged.

The first incident happened some months ago, when a pregnant Irish woman, was walking down a street in Kuala Lumpur with her handbag slung over her shoulder. Suddenly, she was thrown to the ground, when a passing motorcyclist grabbed her bag and dragged her along the ground. She held onto it, bravely, but was dragged quite a few metres, before her attacker gave up. She was quite a few months pregnant at the time and was left with scraped flesh all down one side of her body.

The second incident happened in the Gardens shopping centre - a very chic shopping mall - in Kuala Lumpur. This was not a violent incident, indeed, the victim, a Russian white woman, did not even know it had happened until later. Basically, someone pick pocketed all the cash from her bag. She is heavily and obviously pregnant - late stages.

To my mind, these incidents show an incredible degree of callousness. The women concerned are both pregnant and visibly so. One was targeted in a manner which has been known to kill victims (they are dragged to their deaths). The other was robbed of all her money. What on Earth could lead their attackers to think that this was a reasonable thing to do? Where has their humanity gone?

The question here, is: are Malaysia's muggers specifically singling out pregnant women as victims because they are likely to be less mobile and less able to fight back? Or are they targetting white women because they believe them to be rich (not always true)? If the former, then I can only say this: much more needs to be done to stamp out these vile criminals. I feel that too little is being done to control them.

Why is this type of crime so common in Malaysia? Aren't the criminals very easy to identify? (They tend to ride motorbikes...so why not just stop ALL young men on motorbikes and investigate them for signs of criminality.)

When a pregnant woman, traditionally regarded as worthy of much heightened care and attention by societies all around the world, becomes victim to snatch thieves, who endanger her life and the life of her unborn, then assuredly, that is the mark of a society perilously close to barbarism.

I do not know what the punishment for snatch thieves is, in Malaysia - but whatever it is, it needs to be harshened, considerably. Also, there should be random checks of all young men who ride motorbikes. Should there be any signs that they are engaged in criminal activities, they should receive long, mandatory jail sentences, without delay.

It is at times like this that the merits of Syariah law seem to have some appeal. It is very difficult, after all, to pursue a career as a snatch thief, if you have no hands. Also riding a motorbike is a little tricky, too. Whatever one might think of ancient Islamic law, I feel it would have done a better job, with the muggers of Malaysia, than modern law enforcement is doing, presently. The response of the police is simply not effective.

I recall one case, here, in Malaysia, in which a crowd who saw a snatch thief at work, caught up with him - and beat him to death. I don't believe that anyone was charged. However, the case does show the degree of public anger towards snatch thieves who have, quite frequently, killed or maimed their victims. The authorities in Malaysia should listen to that public anger and crack down on these obscene young men, who think that a pregnant white woman is a reasonable choice of victim. How horrible.

Consider this, too: many a woman has lost a child, through miscarriage, owing to a sudden shock. Thus, in snatching a pregnant woman's bag, they put the life of the child at risk, even if the woman comes to no harm (unlikely as our friend could attest).

In short, the attackers of our pregnant friend, should be charged not with theft, or attempted theft - but with attempted murder, on two counts - for their actions imperil the lives of those they attack. If the standard charge for snatch theft was raised to attempted murder, to reflect the risks to their victims, perhaps this crime would abate.

My advice to any pregnant woman on the streets of Malaysia is not to carry a bag at all. Then you won't be a victim. This seems to be a sad necessity given the proportion of our friends who have been mugged in this fashion.

Be safe, everyone.

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