Jan 5 (Reuters) - Nyjah Huston, widely regarded as the greatest street skateboarder of all time, suffered a fractured skull and fractured eye socket in an accident, he said on Monday.
Eye on the crime: Shanmugamoorthy and Thaiveegan say close monitoring and stronger measures are needed to curb the illegal metal trade. PETALING JAYA: Tougher penalties and stricter enforcement are crucial to rein in Malaysia ’s booming illegal scrap metal trade, say two former police top brass.
Former federal CID assistant director Datuk S. Shanmugamoorthy said enforcement often failed due to outdated laws and limited capacity to handle modern scrap- related crimes. “We need a compact, all-encompassing law with airtight procedures and heavier penalties, especially for habitual offenders.“Some of these thefts involving public infrastructure can even disrupt essential services,” he said. He noted that the Second-Hand Dealers Act 1946 , a pre-independence law, mainly covers licensing, operating hours, record-keeping and dealer liability.“Police have long called for amendments as the law does not fully cover newer criminal methods or the role of foreign nationals. It needs urgent revision to suit current circumstances,” he added. Shanmugamoorthy said thefts targeting public infrastructure were often intricate and required technical skill, with foreign scrap collectors increasingly being involved.“Take LRT or MRT cable thefts as an example. Dismantling and extracting the material requires the technical know-how. The mastermind often remains unknown and pushes the work to foreign nationals.He explained that foreign collectors often stored and disassembled stolen items at isolated locations before bringing them to scrap dealers outside business hours. “UNHCR cardholders have no immunity from prosecution. It is illegal for these cardholders to even work and in some cases their cards are found to be fake,” he told The Star. To choke the illegal scrap supply chain, Shanmugamoorthy proposed several measures: strengthening the burden of proof, revising licence conditions, standardising record books, mandating CCTV at dealer premises and requiring all transactions to be registered. He also suggested better engagement with scrap metal traders’ associations and greater transparency in procurement tenders. “Enforcing these measures will make it harder for unlicensed foreign operators to profit, while protecting ethical local dealers,” he said. Criminologist Datuk Seri A. Thaiveegan said to further regulate the scrap metal industry, closer monitoring could be adopted.“Overseers or ex-police officers can be roped in to manage compliance,” he said. Thaiveegan said digitalising transactions and reporting them promptly to a dedicated agency would allow authorities to keep tabs on the businesses.“Big manufacturing and export yards have Customs officers on site. The same system can be applied to large recycling companies based on its annual turnover,” he added. While police have jurisdiction over scrap yards, Thaiveegan noted enforcement was “seemingly inefficient”.“Serving officers must maintain professional distance from scrapyard owners to avoid ethical conflicts. Law enforcers should revoke licences if owners are charged twice for related offences. “The Anti-Money Laundering Act should be used to investigate illegal gains, with penalties including a minimum six-month jail term and fines from RM50,000 to RM1mil. “I believe many scrap metal operators are law-abiding and ethical. It is only a small group that brings a bad reputation to the whole industry,” said the former police commissioner.
Illegal Scrap Metal Trade Enforcement Tougher Penalties Second-Hand Dealers Act 1946 Foreign Scrap Collectors CCTV Digitalising Transactions Anti-Money Laundering Act Ethical Conduct
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