©The
Star (Used by permission)
by Kay Arr, Petaling Jaya, Selangor
I REFER to “Expert: Use fingerprints in deals (The Star, Nov 2).
It is indeed frightening to hear that property worth about RM4.8bil in 2006 and
RM10.1bil in just five months of 2008, were lost in cheating cases.
The actual figures may be much higher as many others would have gone unreported.
If this trend continues unchecked, we may be heading for a social crisis.
The figures show an increase of about 400%. This exponential increase in just
one year, and the increasing sophistication of white-collar crime, is cause for
worry and calls for urgent action by the Government.
We have often read of both the poor and the rich being victims of such
incidents. And in some cases the people have lost their only land, house or a
lifetime’s savings through such crimes.
Even their documents kept in government custody are sometimes altered. This
happens so easily because most transactions require nothing more than a
signature. And we no longer need the services of a specialist to forge records.
ACP Tan Kok Liang’s suggestion for fingerprints on property documents may be one
way to deter the criminals and reduce such crimes. We see this method strictly
enforced by the Employees Provident Fund for withdrawals of even small sums of
money.
The Immigration Department also requires fingerprints, despite high-tech
passports in use.
The same practice should be applied to property transactions.
I hope the Government would act on ACP Tan’s suggestion before the statistics
further accelerate.