Ok, here's the long awaited post. 1/2 of the reasons why I moved this blog. And I declare that this post will be uncommentable. Why? I don't want to hear comments like, "It's your fault for being careless". Nobody asked to be targeted; I didn't. So here goes.
I had a paintball competition on 26 Sep - SX 3 on 3 tournament. I wanted ST to accompany me and to allow both of us to get sufficient rest, I decided to book a budget hotel in JB. The cost was only RM$60.
To cut to the chase, we had dinner at Denga Mall and left the building at 8pm. Our hotel was only 10 minutes walk away. We exited into a large open space carpark. Part of me observed that the 2 guys who were washing cars had long knocked off from work. I also noted the sentry post was not manned.
As we were exiting the carpark, I felt increasing discomfort on my neck-shoulder joint. In a daze, I then noted 2 guys on a bike, on my front and right, with the pillion rider grabbing hold of my sling bag. Before I could recover, the strap broke and they started riding away towards the highway. Passport, camera, cash. These items came up in my mind as I uttered an expletive. My legs acted on the quick calculation that I could catch them on foot. Yet, I hardly took a step before I had to turn back towards ST to take the load off my hands. That moment of indecision was enough; I couldn't leave her alone. I watched as they entered the high way.
A Malay lady almost appeared immediately and asked if we're ok. She then offered to take us to the nearby police station. We hardly took a few steps before a white car pulled up beside us. The Chinese couple inside claimed the tried to chase down the thieves but lost them. They offered to give us a ride. I gave the excuse that I need to see ST safely back into the hotel first and declined. Looking ahead, the Malay lady had gone on without us. We proceeded to walk back to the hotel.
Along the way, we avoided proximity with any vehicles and people. As we entered the road that leads to the hotel, we grumbled about the lack of police presence. Just then, a car passed us. Once we realised that it could be a police car, it was to late to stop it. We entered our hotel and asked for help. The staff was sympathetic enough and one of them offered to escort us to the station. We took a 5-10 minutes cab ride for RM$2++, which he paid for the fare. We noted that the pattern of the police car parked that matches the one that passed us as we were walking back to the hotel.
The policeman on duty was professional enough. We gave our statement that we were robbed by 2 young lean looking Chinese men on a motorbike. Not exactly a lot of details to go on. We then had to wait for half an hour to see a lady inspector. After giving us a police report, she assured us that I could cross the borders with that document. All through the 1 hr at the station, our escort was with us. We gave him RM$10 for his troubles.
My hassle of crossing the border was already mentioned in another post. On hindsight, I guess I should have mentioned the Malay lady and the Chinese couple. It's probably "evil" of me to think badly of them when they were trying to be good Samaritans but who knows? I *was* worried about them. First grab the bag. Then offer them a ride and rob them at knife point. Many people have also said I did the right thing in not giving chase. My personal logic then and now also acknowledge that even in my misplaced confidence in my sprinting abilities, they could have simply turned their throttle up and leave me sucking gas.
My damage from the incident was:
My Passport - detailing every trip from my young adult life till now
My Fujifilm camera - damn it
RM$400
Perfume from ST
Important Keys
Nail clipper from Doris
Other minor items like playing cards, insect repellent, Toy R'Us membership card
I also got a cut on my right forearm as the sling broke - no blood drawn though
$30 incurred from roaming calls and SMSs
$70 from replacement of passport
Many people have given their support and assistance in this episode. Even though most of them won't read this, I thank you for your help.
