Hunt For Nicky Liow Neighbours Want Cops To Explain Collateral Damage

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More than a dozen condominium units unrelated to fugitive Nicky Liow Soon Hee were damaged by the police during raids carried out against him last month.
Residents at Trigon Residence, Puchong, who found their doors broken in, are demanding answers and compensation from the police.
Seven of the affected property owners and residents held a press conference yesterday to raise the issue, alongside local councillors and representatives from DAP.
According to Subang Jaya councillor George Yap Kok Weng, it is believed that 17 units that were broken in had nothing to do with Liow.
"A total of 22 doors were broken down and five of them were related to Liow. The remaining 17 were under suspicion by the police so they were broken too," he told Malaysiakini.


One of the affected property owners who identified herself only as "Madam Saw" said her unit had been rented out. When a neighbour informed her of the police raid, her tenant rushed home but did not reach home in time.

When the tenant finally got home, he was greeted by the sight of a broken front door and police personnel still inside the unit.

"When I called my tenant, he said he was not at home. He rushed home within 10 minutes, but my door was already smashed to pieces...," she told Malaysiakini.
Saw had lodged a police report over the matter at the Puchong Jaya police station on March 25. According to Yap, all seven tenants and owners at the press conference had made police reports.

Johor police chief Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay
When contacted, Johor police chief Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, who is in charge of the Liow investigation, told Malaysiakini he would address the matter in a press statement to be issued today.
On March 21, New Straits Times had quoted Ayob Khan saying that police are tracking down Liow whose last known address was at Trigon Residence.
On the same day, China Press also reported that about 100 police officers had surrounded the condominium for at least 18 hours from 7pm the previous day. 
Clarifications and compensation needed
Meanwhile, Selangor state exco Ng Sze Han's aide Ong Chun Wei told Malaysiakini that some property owners were only aware that their property had been broken in several days after the raid.
This meant that the doors at their condominium units were left open the entire time.
He said while residents are grateful for the police's crimefighting efforts, they also want clarity on police standard operating procedures (SOPs) and whether they had been adhered to.


They also want to know whether any compensation will be forthcoming from the police.
"Some are confused whether they should repair the door. If they repaired the doors on their own, how do they prove it had been repaired if there is an investigation in the future?
"Some units are still tenanted, so it is impossible to let the door open.
"From the residents' accounts, we think that the SOP was unclear and we urge the police to meet the residents and give explanations about the SOP and compensation as soon as possible," he said.

Ong estimated the total cost for all the damaged doors at around RM30,000.






On April 9, 14 individuals including two Liow's siblings were charged at the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court for involvement in an organised criminal group known as "Geng Nicky".
The group was originally probed over two cases of Macau scams but police soon uncovered a myriad of other alleged criminal activities including drug offences and corruption.


Liow is wanted by the police following the arrest of 68 of his members in an operation, Op Pelican 3.0, conducted between last March 20 and 28. - Mkini

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