Harsher laws needed to stop gangs

The Star

26-04-2025

Bukit Aman deputy CID director, DCP Datuk Fadil Marsus at Bukit Aman on March 17, 2025. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star
'We must tackle the problem before they become like the Mafia or Yakuza'
KUALA LUMPUR: Criminal gangs are growing more violent, and resorting to social media to recruit members – so harsher and more wide-ranging laws are needed to stop them.
The police, especially the Criminal Investigation Depart­ment (CID), need stronger laws as the current laws are just not enough, said CID deputy director Deputy Comm Datuk Fadil Marsus ( pic ).
'Action can only be taken against criminal gangs based on the Penal Code. It is not enough,' he said, adding that organised criminal gangs pose a major threat.
On April 14, a gang leader was involved in a slashing attack at a mall in Seremban. He and two others were detained in Port Dickson within 24 hours.
On April 23, a man lost all five fingers on his left hand when he was attacked by a group of men in front of a restaurant in Bandar Sunway, Subang Jaya, due to a disagreement between the '21' and '36' gangs.
DCP Fadil said these criminal gangs have to be tackled pre-emptively.
'Even if the police know about a criminal case linked to a gang, based on information and intelligence gathered, we cannot take action on all of its members.
'There are constraints in the process of gathering evidence, obtaining remand orders and charging them in court,' he said in an interview.
DCP Fadil said if the gang members are involved in armed robberies or assault, they will be charged with that specific offence.
'We cannot take action on other crimes although we know they are active in extortion, threats, collecting protection money as well as drug and contraband smuggling,' he said, adding that gangs are now turning to kidnappings as well.
'Currently, we are also relying on the Societies Act. It is hard to take a sterner approach towards violent crimes by these gangs.
'I am not saying the Act is weak but (what I'm saying) is we need another law that would enable stronger action aimed at prevention.
'For example, in some cases, police can only detain and prosecute three or four offenders due to the burden of proof, although many more in the gang may have been involved,' he said.
'They (the gangs) have various ways to avoid being identified. They wear masks, gloves or balaclavas. How can we bring them to justice although we know they committed the crime?'
DCP Fadil hoped the government would seriously consider introducing a new law for the sake of safety and public order.
'We need a more aggressive and suitable law to tackle the gang problem in the country,' he said.
'These gangs are recruiting and even targeting students. We don't want a day where gangs expand on a large scale and become more structured and organised, like the Mafia in Europe and Yakuza in Japan.'
DCP Fadil also said criminal gangs or secret societies are now using social media to recruit new members, especially teenagers and students.
'It is a new approach on top of their traditional tactics of directly recruiting students outside schools,' he said.
'It is a new way for secret socie­ties to recruit new members using popular influencers on social media.
'This new tactic was detected by Bukit Aman Anti-Vice, Gambling and Secret Societies Division (D7). Thus, we need laws to combat and thwart such recruitments.
'We have already identified criminal gangs that are being promoted on social media by influencers.
'We are not ruling out the possibility that the influencers are also part of the gangs,' DCP Fadil said.
He said the gangs survive through criminal activities.
'They resort to robberies, extortions, illegal gambling, human trafficking as well as smuggling. They are also involved in protection rackets,' he added.