Published by The Star
BY AUSTIN CAMOENS

POLICE have given their thumbs-up to a smart partnership that has drastically reduced crime at the Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah (HTAR) in Klang.

Selangor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah said untoward incidents at the hospital, once a hotbed for crime, had reduced by 50% from January to March compared with the previous year.

“Among others, motorcycle thefts have been prevalent in the hospital. But this has been cut by 11.8%,” he said during a visit to HTAR with senior police officers recently.

Also present were Chico Force Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Nik Ismail Nik Yusoff and group CEO Datuk Seri Juniur Khoo.

DCP Tun Hisan commended the firm for successfully implementing the Health Ministry’s pilot security project at the hospital within such a short span of time.

“The firm did away with conventional guard posts to rely on modern and integrated CCTVs, which are a more efficient approach to security,” he added. Nik Ismail said the CCTV network covered almost all “blindspots” and critical areas.

“Selangor police played a big role in helping us curb crime at the hospital,” he added.

HTAR senior principal assistant director (management) Dhanesh Kumar Danesekaran said there was now a closer bond between the hospital’s community and the police.

Before the implementation of this programme in February last year, there were cases of stolen medical equipment, with five to 10 police reports lodged every month.

Vehicle thefts and harassment by gangsters were also common. In 2010, a security supervisor was murdered in the parking area.