How Did Thieves Break Into Car?
by Zaihan Md Yusof
HE'S the sort of driver who would "go the extra mile" to keep his car safe and secure.
Whenever Mr Abdul Rahman Majid, 49, parks his car, he makes sure that it's in an area with human traffic.
He also parks his car "head in" and turns the front wheels to one side.
This is to make it difficult for thieves to tow away his $120,000 Honda Odyssey.
He also uses steering and brake pedal locks.
The Singaporean real estate agent did all these when he visited Tebrau City in Johor Baru on 24 Jan.
Before leaving his car, he also made sure that his central locking and alarm system were on.
Yet, 25 minutes later, he was shocked to find that his car had been broken into.
And Mr Abdul Rahman has no idea how the thieves did it because there were no signs of forced entry.
"I was so confident that nobody could penetrate the car's security system," he said.
Mr Abdul Rahman and his family had gone to the mall, which is about a 20-minute drive from the Causeway, to return a faulty cleaning apparatus.
When they returned to his car, he was surprised to see that its glove compartment was open.
When Mr Abdul Rahman tried to disarm the car's alarm, the windows began moving up and down.
"I knew something was wrong because when I tried to deactivate my car alarm, I didn't hear the usual beeping sound."
His daughter's laptop, which was inside a bag on the back seat, was gone.
His GPS system, which was inside the glove compartment, a haversack and a handphone were also missing.
Mr Abdul Rahman, who estimated his loss at $3,000, made police reports in Johor Baru and Singapore.
When he checked with the carpark security guard, he was surprised to learn that his car alarm had not gone off.
"It's amazing that the thieves were able to get into my car despite me having all these security features. I don't know how they did it,"he said.
So how did the thieves do it?
One possible way is by using an electronic gadget that sends a radio frequency similar to the car's alarm system, said an expert who deals with car theft cases in Malaysia and declined to be named.
This enables thieves to open the car doors without tripping the alarm or by using force.
Those in the car industry will know where to get the device, which he said can even be found on the Internet.
"We've come across the use of this device in Malaysia, but it's not that rampant. It's more commonly used in Europe and Eastern Europe as a favoured method of breaking into a car cleanly," he said.
Car thieves are also known to "neutralise" the alarm system by short-circuiting wires in the signal lights.
Then they enter the car using a master key.
Tell-tale signs
But such a method would usually leave tell-tale signs, such as a damaged signal light or some drilled holes.
In Mr Rahman's case, there were no such indications.
Four Malaysian car accessory shops told The New Paper that they had not heard of the latest method of breaking into cars.
A spokesman for Mega Champion Automart in Johor Baru, who gave her name as Lisa, said: "When a car is broken into, there will always be some clues or sign that the car has been tampered with."
But she added that car thieves are "getting better", so car owners should install better quality alarm systems.
The Malaysian authorities are also seeing another worrying trend.
Last December, Malaysian newspaper The Malay Mail reported the existence of a new device that can override a car's security system, enabling the thief to disconnect the car alarm and drive the car away.
The device is known as TKM (Toyota Key Maker) and is believed to have been used mainly to steal Toyota cars.
The report said the TKM can be bought at some car workshops or online for as little as RM300($124).
Car theft syndicates in Malaysia have been known to steal cars using the TKM in just a few minutes.
According to the report, Toyota is the most popular foreign make targeted by thieves in Malaysia from January to October last year.
Of the 3,600 car theft cases, 1,575 involved the marque, with the most sought-after models being the Camry, Fortuner and Hilux.
As for Mr Abdul Rahman, he believes he didn't lose his car because of the steering lock and brake pedal lock.
He said: "Can you imagine how fast and easy it could have been for the thieves to drive my car off if I didn't have these locks to slow them down?"
And he's not taking anymore chances.
He has installed a $500 alarm system which will alert him via a small pager-sized device if someone is trying to break into his car.
"As long as I'm within a 3km radius of my car, I will instantly know if something happens to my car. This will give me time to dash back."
This article was first published in The New Paper - March 1, 2010
Car Windows Smashed In JB, Same Items Stolen
THESE two Singaporeans have more in common than just their names.
The men, who are both called Mr Mohd Rizal, went to the same mall in Johor Baru (JB) last Saturday evening.
They both had their car windows smashed and their performance gauges stolen from their vehicles.The two men did not know each other before the incident, which took place at the carpark of the Aeon Bukit Indah Shopping Centre.
The mall, a 20-minute drive away from Tuas Checkpoint, is popular with Singaporeans.
Mr Mohd Rizal, 32, a technical officer, and his wife went shopping after parking his four-year-old Kia Rio at the mall's carpark at 5.30pm.
At 9.05pm, the couple returned to the car - only to find the driver's window smashed. His performance gauge, an Apexi S-AFC, was missing.
Mr Mohd Rizal, who goes to JB twice a month, told The New Paper: "Someone had cut the cable to the gauge."
He had bought it for $400 from a car accessories shop in Singapore two years ago.
The device is popular among motorists who wish to lower their fuel consumption.
Mr Mohd Rizal said he alerted the security officer and filed a report with the mall's management.
As it turns out, he was not the only victim.
Mr Mohd Rizal said: "The security guard told me he saw that the window of another car had also been smashed, but they did not know who the owner was."
He later found out that the car's owner was another Singaporean with the same name.
The other Mr Mohd Rizal, a 37-year-old senior process technician, was also shopping at the mall with his wife and three family members.
When they returned to the carpark at 9.45pm after three hours at the mall, they saw two security officers standing around their Subaru Impreza.
The car's $600 gauge, also an Apexi S-AFC, was gone.
The thieves had smashed the driver's window to steal the gauge. Although he wasn't concealing it on purpose, Mr Mohd Rizal said he had put his baseball cap over the gauge.
"I don't understand how (the thieves) saw the gauge. Perhaps they saw it before I covered it," he said.
He too, filed a report with the mall's management.
So who were the culprits?
The older Mr Mohd Rizal said: "The security guard told me he saw the thief from a distance. But he could not stop him and his accomplice, who was on a motorcycle, from speeding away."
He did not make a police report as he felt it "would not do any good", but the younger Mr Mohd Rizal did.
The technical officer said he asked police officers to check his car's dashboard where the gauge was placed for fingerprints, but they did not find any.
Still, he is baffled how someone could have smashed the car window and steal the gauge without being detected.
"I parked at an open-air carpark and there were many other cars parked nearby. There was even a footpath nearby," he said.
He added that he parked his car headfirst into the parking lot and had locked his steering wheel to deter car thieves.
Deactivated alarm
"I think the thief prised open the window frame to deactivate the car alarm before smashing the window," he said.
However, the incident will not stop him from going to the mall, where he often buys baby products for his 7-month old daughter.
The older Mr Mohd Rizal, on the other hand, who visits the mall three to four times a month, said he intends to cut down on the number of visits.
An assistant manager in a Singapore car accessories shop, who wanted to be known only as Mr Yeo, told The New Paper that the Apexi S-AFC can fetch up to RM1,000 ($400) on the black market.
Last November, The New Paper reported that a Singaporean's car was stolen from the Aeon Tebrau City Shopping Centre, a 30-minute drive from the Aeon Bukit Indah Shopping Centre.
The 29-year-old woman's Mitsubishi Colt Plus was stolen in the 10 minutes that she left it to pay the parking fee.
In May 2008, a car radio was stolen from a Singapore-registered Honda Stream left at an open-air carpark at the Aeon Tebrau City Shopping Centre. The owner found his car window smashed.
Nurul Asyikin Mohd Nasir, newsroom intern
This article was first published in The New Paper - January 9, 2010
by Zaihan Md Yusof
HE'S the sort of driver who would "go the extra mile" to keep his car safe and secure.
Whenever Mr Abdul Rahman Majid, 49, parks his car, he makes sure that it's in an area with human traffic.
He also parks his car "head in" and turns the front wheels to one side.
This is to make it difficult for thieves to tow away his $120,000 Honda Odyssey.
He also uses steering and brake pedal locks.
The Singaporean real estate agent did all these when he visited Tebrau City in Johor Baru on 24 Jan.
Before leaving his car, he also made sure that his central locking and alarm system were on.
Yet, 25 minutes later, he was shocked to find that his car had been broken into.
And Mr Abdul Rahman has no idea how the thieves did it because there were no signs of forced entry.
"I was so confident that nobody could penetrate the car's security system," he said.
Mr Abdul Rahman and his family had gone to the mall, which is about a 20-minute drive from the Causeway, to return a faulty cleaning apparatus.
When they returned to his car, he was surprised to see that its glove compartment was open.
When Mr Abdul Rahman tried to disarm the car's alarm, the windows began moving up and down.
"I knew something was wrong because when I tried to deactivate my car alarm, I didn't hear the usual beeping sound."
His daughter's laptop, which was inside a bag on the back seat, was gone.
His GPS system, which was inside the glove compartment, a haversack and a handphone were also missing.
Mr Abdul Rahman, who estimated his loss at $3,000, made police reports in Johor Baru and Singapore.
When he checked with the carpark security guard, he was surprised to learn that his car alarm had not gone off.
"It's amazing that the thieves were able to get into my car despite me having all these security features. I don't know how they did it,"he said.
So how did the thieves do it?
One possible way is by using an electronic gadget that sends a radio frequency similar to the car's alarm system, said an expert who deals with car theft cases in Malaysia and declined to be named.
This enables thieves to open the car doors without tripping the alarm or by using force.
Those in the car industry will know where to get the device, which he said can even be found on the Internet.
"We've come across the use of this device in Malaysia, but it's not that rampant. It's more commonly used in Europe and Eastern Europe as a favoured method of breaking into a car cleanly," he said.
Car thieves are also known to "neutralise" the alarm system by short-circuiting wires in the signal lights.
Then they enter the car using a master key.
Tell-tale signs
But such a method would usually leave tell-tale signs, such as a damaged signal light or some drilled holes.
In Mr Rahman's case, there were no such indications.
Four Malaysian car accessory shops told The New Paper that they had not heard of the latest method of breaking into cars.
A spokesman for Mega Champion Automart in Johor Baru, who gave her name as Lisa, said: "When a car is broken into, there will always be some clues or sign that the car has been tampered with."
But she added that car thieves are "getting better", so car owners should install better quality alarm systems.
The Malaysian authorities are also seeing another worrying trend.
Last December, Malaysian newspaper The Malay Mail reported the existence of a new device that can override a car's security system, enabling the thief to disconnect the car alarm and drive the car away.
The device is known as TKM (Toyota Key Maker) and is believed to have been used mainly to steal Toyota cars.
The report said the TKM can be bought at some car workshops or online for as little as RM300($124).
Car theft syndicates in Malaysia have been known to steal cars using the TKM in just a few minutes.
According to the report, Toyota is the most popular foreign make targeted by thieves in Malaysia from January to October last year.
Of the 3,600 car theft cases, 1,575 involved the marque, with the most sought-after models being the Camry, Fortuner and Hilux.
As for Mr Abdul Rahman, he believes he didn't lose his car because of the steering lock and brake pedal lock.
He said: "Can you imagine how fast and easy it could have been for the thieves to drive my car off if I didn't have these locks to slow them down?"
And he's not taking anymore chances.
He has installed a $500 alarm system which will alert him via a small pager-sized device if someone is trying to break into his car.
"As long as I'm within a 3km radius of my car, I will instantly know if something happens to my car. This will give me time to dash back."
This article was first published in The New Paper - March 1, 2010
******
Car Windows Smashed In JB, Same Items Stolen
THESE two Singaporeans have more in common than just their names.
The men, who are both called Mr Mohd Rizal, went to the same mall in Johor Baru (JB) last Saturday evening.
They both had their car windows smashed and their performance gauges stolen from their vehicles.The two men did not know each other before the incident, which took place at the carpark of the Aeon Bukit Indah Shopping Centre.
The mall, a 20-minute drive away from Tuas Checkpoint, is popular with Singaporeans.
Mr Mohd Rizal, 32, a technical officer, and his wife went shopping after parking his four-year-old Kia Rio at the mall's carpark at 5.30pm.
At 9.05pm, the couple returned to the car - only to find the driver's window smashed. His performance gauge, an Apexi S-AFC, was missing.
Mr Mohd Rizal, who goes to JB twice a month, told The New Paper: "Someone had cut the cable to the gauge."
He had bought it for $400 from a car accessories shop in Singapore two years ago.
The device is popular among motorists who wish to lower their fuel consumption.
Mr Mohd Rizal said he alerted the security officer and filed a report with the mall's management.
As it turns out, he was not the only victim.
Mr Mohd Rizal said: "The security guard told me he saw that the window of another car had also been smashed, but they did not know who the owner was."
He later found out that the car's owner was another Singaporean with the same name.
The other Mr Mohd Rizal, a 37-year-old senior process technician, was also shopping at the mall with his wife and three family members.
When they returned to the carpark at 9.45pm after three hours at the mall, they saw two security officers standing around their Subaru Impreza.
The car's $600 gauge, also an Apexi S-AFC, was gone.
The thieves had smashed the driver's window to steal the gauge. Although he wasn't concealing it on purpose, Mr Mohd Rizal said he had put his baseball cap over the gauge.
"I don't understand how (the thieves) saw the gauge. Perhaps they saw it before I covered it," he said.
He too, filed a report with the mall's management.
So who were the culprits?
The older Mr Mohd Rizal said: "The security guard told me he saw the thief from a distance. But he could not stop him and his accomplice, who was on a motorcycle, from speeding away."
He did not make a police report as he felt it "would not do any good", but the younger Mr Mohd Rizal did.
The technical officer said he asked police officers to check his car's dashboard where the gauge was placed for fingerprints, but they did not find any.
Still, he is baffled how someone could have smashed the car window and steal the gauge without being detected.
"I parked at an open-air carpark and there were many other cars parked nearby. There was even a footpath nearby," he said.
He added that he parked his car headfirst into the parking lot and had locked his steering wheel to deter car thieves.
Deactivated alarm
"I think the thief prised open the window frame to deactivate the car alarm before smashing the window," he said.
However, the incident will not stop him from going to the mall, where he often buys baby products for his 7-month old daughter.
The older Mr Mohd Rizal, on the other hand, who visits the mall three to four times a month, said he intends to cut down on the number of visits.
An assistant manager in a Singapore car accessories shop, who wanted to be known only as Mr Yeo, told The New Paper that the Apexi S-AFC can fetch up to RM1,000 ($400) on the black market.
Last November, The New Paper reported that a Singaporean's car was stolen from the Aeon Tebrau City Shopping Centre, a 30-minute drive from the Aeon Bukit Indah Shopping Centre.
The 29-year-old woman's Mitsubishi Colt Plus was stolen in the 10 minutes that she left it to pay the parking fee.
In May 2008, a car radio was stolen from a Singapore-registered Honda Stream left at an open-air carpark at the Aeon Tebrau City Shopping Centre. The owner found his car window smashed.
Nurul Asyikin Mohd Nasir, newsroom intern
This article was first published in The New Paper - January 9, 2010
26 comments:
Ηighlу energetic blοg, Ι enjoyed that bit.
Will there be a ρart 2?
Lоoκ intο my web page - leczenie paradontozy wrocław
I've read several excellent stuff here. Certainly price bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how much effort you set to make this sort of fantastic informative website.
My webpage just click the next article
Thanκ you, I've just been searching for information about this topic for ages and yours is the best I'vе fοund out
till noω. Hoωeνer, what сonсernіng the
bottom line? Aгe you sure about the supplу?
My hοmeρage :: http://kissenas.com/
Τhаnks foг sharing уouг thoughts on amusіng ρictures.
Regaгds
Also visіt my wеbѕite; kwejk
Нi thеre to еѵеry body, it's my first pay a quick visit of this web site; this webpage contains amazing and truly good information in favor of readers.
Also visit my site: depilacja wrocław
Нello there I am ѕo glaԁ I found your wеbѕite, I really fοunԁ yοu by error, ωhile I was seaгching on Gοogle for ѕomethіng else, Anyωays I am hегe nоω аnԁ would ϳust lіkе to ѕaу many thanks
for a maгvelοus pοst аnd a all round excitіng blоg (I
also lovе the thеme/design), I don’t
have time tо bгoωse it all at the moment but I hаνe
bookmarked it and also inсluԁed your RЅS feeds, sо
ωhen I hаve time I wіll be bacκ to read a
great deal more, Plеaѕe ԁo kеep up the aωesοme b.
Ηаve a look аt my webpage - zasilacz samochodowy
Fantastic blog you hаve here but I was ωonԁerіng if you knew
of any community forumѕ that cover the same topics tаlked abоut
in this article? I'd really love to be a part of community where I can get comments from other experienced people that share the same interest. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Many thanks!
Also visit my web blog oldtownspace.net
Do you have a spam ρгoblem on thiѕ website; I also am a
blogger, and I was wοndering youг ѕituation; many оf us have
creatеd ѕome niсe methοds аnd we are looking to exchange strategiеs with
other folks, be sure tο shoot me аn emaіl if іnteresteԁ.
Take a look at my homepage - relevant resource site
Hello to evегy , as I am genuinеly kеen of reаԁіng thіѕ web site's post to be updated regularly. It carries pleasant material.
Here is my web blog; bydgoskie.org
I have the complication solved on printing the labels. In
some way, I received a top margin on web page one that was non-standard (smaller sized) than the
other pages. This was tossing every label off. I might not locate a means
of erasing the very first web page only, so I trimmed and inserted
each address in to a brand-new tag file. The good result was excellent and the leading frame on every one of the
pages were fine.
Look into my website ... http://fb-flow.blogspot.com/2009/08/photo-editing-in-facebook-with-picnik.html
Hello there! I know this is kinda off topic however , I'd figured I'd ask.
Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest authoring a blog post or vice-versa?
My site covers a lot of the same subjects as yours and I feel we could greatly benefit from each other.
If you happen to be interested feel free to shoot me an
email. I look forward to hearing from you! Fantastic blog by
the way!
Feel free to visit my web site: Find A Car Value
Thanks for every other great article. The place else
may anyone get that kind of information in
such an ideal method of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I'm on the look for such info.
Feel free to surf to my weblog; how to find out the value of a car
Αfter Ι originаlly commеnted I apρеаr to have сliсkeԁ on the -Nоtіfy mе ωhen new сοmments arе аdded- checkbox and nοw еvегу time a
comment is аԁded І гecеive 4 emails ωith thе ѕаme
сomment. Τhere has tο bе a way уou сan
remove me fгom that ѕerνіce?
Mаny thanks!
My page - cheаρ luхury wаtchеs ()
Ahaa, its fastidious сonѵеrsatіοn concerning thiѕ aгticle heге аt this wеbsite,
I have reаd all that, so now mе also commenting herе.
Fеel free to visit mу blog buy stairliftѕ
**
I cοuld not resiѕt cοmmenting. Veгy wеll ωritten!
my blοg рost buy cheap bass boats for sale
Thіs piеce of wгiting pгesents сlеaг iԁea for the nеω ρeοple οf blоggіng,
thаt actually hοw to do bloggіng anԁ site-building.
Here is my sіte; buy cheap stairlifts
Неy I аm so excitеd I
found youг ωеbsite, Ӏ геally fοund yоu by miѕtaκe, while I was broωsing οn Yahoo
for something else, Regагdless I am
here now аnԁ would just like to say сheers fοr a fantаѕtic post anԁ a all rοund inteгesting blog (I аlѕo lovе the
theme/desіgn), ӏ don't have time to browse it all at the minute but I have saved it and also included your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a great deal more, Please do keep up the great job.
Have a look at my website; buy cheap power sailboats seats auction
A fаscinating discussion is definitely worth cοmment.
Τhere's no doubt that that you should write more on this topic, it may not be a taboo matter but generally folks don't
speak аbout such issueѕ. To the next!
All thе beѕt!!
Look into mу webpage :: Hubaufzüge gebraucht
Hеllo just wanted to give you a quiсk heads
uр and let you knоω а fеw оf the іmаgеs aren't loading properly. I'm nοt sure why but
I think its а linking іssue. I've tried it in two different web browsers and both show the same results.
Also visit my web-site buy best luxury watches
Υou ought to be а part of a contest
fоr onе of the most useful websites on the ωeb.
I'm going to highly recommend this blog!
Here is my blog buy best cheap luxury Perfume
Thankѕ fоr a marѵelouѕ posting!
I genuinely enjoyed reаdіng it, you might be
a grеat author.I ωill be sure to bookmаrκ your blog anԁ definitely will come back sometime
soοn. Ι want to encourage yοu to dеfinitely continuе your great job, have a nіce morning!
Нere is my web site ... cheap luxury yacht seats for sale
Hellο every onе, hеrе everу one is ѕhагing thеse kindѕ
οf fаmіliarity, therеfοre it's fastidious to read this webpage, and I used to visit this webpage everyday.
My web-site: boat on sale
Рrеtty nice post. ӏ јust stumbleԁ upon yоur blog and ωishеԁ to ѕay
that ӏ have rеаlly еnјοyeԁ
bгowsing youг blog poѕts. Aftеr
all Ι will be ѕubscribіng to your
гss fеeԁ and I hоpe you ωrite again very soon!
Hеrе іs my webраge buy сhеаp fгаgгances оnlіne ()
Ι truly love yοur ωebsitе.
. Very niсe cοlors & themе. Did you mаke
thіs wеb site yoursеlf? Please reρlу back аѕ I'm attempting to create my very own website and would like to find out where you got this from or exactly what the theme is called. Cheers!
Visit my weblog buy perfume online
Hey! I know this іs kinda off tοpic but I'd figured I'd ask.
Would you bе intегеѕted in trаding lіnks or maybe guest
authorіng a blog post oг ѵiсe-versa?
My blog covers a lot of the sаme topics аѕ youгs and I fеel
we could gгеаtly benеfit fгom each other.
ӏf yоu might be іnterеstеd feеl free to
ѕhoot me an e-mаil. I look forward to hearing from yοu!
Wοnderful blog by the way!
Visіt my weblog buy best cheap stairlift online (http://globalk9.com/link/12835)
Yes, Chad has given the fundamental details. Many thanks!
My web site ... xerox phaser 8560 ink *http://golpochat.com/forum/member.php?307482-DeenaShaw*
Post a Comment