Stall owners hit by market thefts

Wednesday, 18 January 2012 09:03

Stall owners at the Kampar wet market have been hit by losses due to the theft of their vegetables.

Vegetable vendor Wong Chin Sam, 47, said she always finds expensive vegetables such as brinjals missing from her stall.

She suspects that the vegetables are being stolen late at night.

“They do not steal cheaper vegetables such as kumquats and cucumbers,” she said, adding that bigger stalls were often the target.

Wong and few other vendors had hired someone to guard the market throughout the night, but this has not stopped the thefts.

“I wish to install grilles around my stall to prevent more thefts from occurring,” she told reporters after Kampar MP Datuk Lee Chee Leong’s visit to the wet market with Kampar District Council officers last week.

Most of the stall owners who spoke to The Star said they usually only covered their goods with canvas or cardboard before leaving the market.

Chicken stall vendor Kong Weng Loon, 55, said he also had cages of live chickens worth RM120 each stolen last year.

“The situation has recently become better, but I am still worried for the safety of our goods,” he said.

A Kampar District Council (MDK) officer, who wished to remain unnamed, said the council and the police would look into beefing up security at the wet market.

The officer said some stall vendors had requested permission from the council to install grilles around their stalls, but were rejected.

“The council does not wish for the wet market to look disorganised as not every vendor wants to have grilles installed around their stalls.

“However, I will bring up this matter during next council meeting,” she said.

On another matter, Lee, who is also Deputy Home Minister, said he hopes that stall vendors could take note of the hygiene of their surroundings.

Other issues which MDK would look into include accumulated dust on the ceiling of the 14-year-old market.

From The Star