Let’s put things into perspective here. What would you do if say, someone had broken into your home and is aggressively attacking your family?
You call 999, right? Apparently not, as according to Thivyah Veelurajan, who spoke to WORLD OF BUZZ.
She shared the horrific incident of not only having her home in Rawang broken into and her family members attacked, but also how the country’s most familiar emergency hotline failed them.
Source: Facebook
According to Thivya, she, her sister and her sister’s baby had hidden in a room to call ‘999’ at exactly 2:37am as the robbers were trying to break in, but instead of receiving the necessary urgency they needed, Thivyah had to explain the situation in length not once but twice.
“We immediately called 999 at 2:37am. Isn’t that the only number you’d remember when you are under severe distress? Apparently [according to police officers after the ordeal] we should have called ‘Bilik Gerakan’ so that they could have taken immediate action. How many of you know what’s ‘Bilik Gerakan’ or their number? If you don’t, you’ve to better figure it out, as 999 isn’t the best contact point during emergencies, according to the authorities,”
“They were asking a lot of questions. For example, Are they inside? How many of them? Are they hurting you? I had to repeat the same thing to both the ‘999’ operator and the police officer who I was connected to. It was so frustrating as I had to repeat myself twice at that distressing moment. All I needed was help,” she told us.
Source: Facebook
Just then, she heard her parents and grandmother screaming, which led Thivya running into the living room where the rest of her family members were.
Three masked men had entered the house and were brutally attacking her family.
When asked about how she felt at that moment, Thivyah explained, “I don’t know how to describe that situation. It was crazy. I was shivering, running in and out of the room to see what was going on. At that moment, you would not think of anything except ‘999’. I do have the Rawang police station’s number saved in my phone. But trust me, being under so much distress, you would not be able to think. More so, if this is the first time you’re experiencing it.”
Source: Facebook
“They were slashing my dad with a machete, slapping and hitting my mother and aunt with a thick stick. My grandmother is almost 90-years-old, and they were dragging her around mercilessly. My sister and her baby were threatened with a machete.”
“All I was able to do was fall to their feet and beg them not to hurt my family. I saw death lingering around our beautiful home.”
Fortunately, no lives were lost that night as the robbers escaped with Thivya’s car after an excruciating 45 minutes, but what was disappointing was that the police never actually showed up to her house, though they did come close, according to CCTV footage.
“You (the police) had came to our street through the back alley, came up until the third house, made a U-turn and parked at the end of the road for approximately 17 minutes until the robbers escaped. Were you looking for our house by stationing yourselves at one place?”
Source: Facebook
The authorities have since followed up on the robbery, but there has been no response regarding the irresponsible behaviour of the police officers dispatched.
“No action has been taken yet regarding the police officer’s delay. I’ve not received a call from the inspector in charge for this case. Not sure if they’ve even opened the file,” Thivyah added.
Thivya had made the distress call at 2:37am, and her sister made another one a few minutes later (as the robbers were slashing and hurting her family). Yet another call was made at 3:30am to which the operator had told them that they could have given the wrong address.
“You didn’t come to our aid until 3:30am, after 2 calls were made earlier. I saw your police car at the end of our street. You saw the robbers escaping with my car. They got into my car right before your very eyes! They drove past your car, the lights were not switched on. Why didn’t you chase them?”
Source: Facebook
Her ordeal begs the question, what are the actual standards of procedures of the ‘999’ hotline?
“We have lodged reports, in fact. The CCTV footage will be submitted today. Some officials have also seen the footage including YB William Leong Jee Keen, YB Chuah Wei Kiat and lawyer and activist Siti Kassim. This case isn’t just about calling ‘999’. The police were parked for 17 minutes at the end of the road. The robbers escaped right in front of them and they did nothing about it.”
How are we supposed to feel safe and put our lives in the hands of police officers that have no sense of urgency?
Just in case though, here are the phone numbers for the ‘Bilik Gerakan’ for each state.
Emergency Hotline: 999
Kuala Lumpur 03-26949625
Putrajaya 03-88868586
Selangor 03-89453001
Negeri Sembilan 06-7672379
Melaka 06-2324035
Johor 07-2349705
Perlis 04-9762510
Kedah 04- 7323801
Penang 04-3237409
Perak 05-2416562
Pahang 09-5161991
Terengganu 09-6672991
Kelantan 09-7658130
Sarawak 082-252940
Sabah 088-232532
Thivya’s posting has since been shared over 867 times.
It’s true that the masses are only familiar with the ‘999’ hotline as it is clearly stated as the EMERGENCY HOTLINE. Meaning we as Malaysians should be able to call that number in emergencies and expect help!
The authorities should also make the effort to educate the masses on the ‘Bilik Gerakan’ numbers (considering the fact that these number are close to impossible to find online) to prevent incidents like this from happening again.
Also read: 15 Rights You Should Know When You’re Confronted by the Police
