It’s finally published.. =X and this is the original 1
A boy of nine stared at the sea of students in front of him clamouring for the canteen operator’s attention.
While they busied themselves paying for their food and the operator busied himself receiving money, the boy waded through the crowd and inched nearer to the counters.
Then, as quick as lightning, he grabbed a snack and bolted off.
That was in 1997 and the boy was Alan (not his real name).
Fast forward to 2003, and the scene is a classroom in a boys’ school in KL.
It was empty except for two figures rummaging through bags, looking for mobile phones and cash.
They managed to get two phones and a few ringgit before an accomplice standing outside the room signalled for them to make a quick getaway.
One of them was Alan.
Alan grew up stealing.
He started small in primary school and eventually got bolder and more confident in executing more elaborate thefts.
He already knew stealing was wrong when he first stole, but thought nothing of it because the value of the things he stole was small (RM1 per piece of chicken and 20 sens per packet of snack).
When asked why he resorted to stealing at such a young age, Alan said “Why not? You get free food.”
“It was an easy task, and a few of us were doing it.”
“Plus, whoever managed to steal also won the bragging right for the day,” said Alan, 18.
During form three, Alan and his six friends used to take turns making rounds in their school block to harp on classes whose students had gone down to the field for physical education activities.
“A few of us would just walk out of the class in the midst of a subject.”
“Sometimes, we’d inform the teacher that we’re heading to the toilet, but most of the time, we just slipped out unnoticed when the teacher’s busy teaching in front.”
In each operation, 2-3 boys would be involved.
Once they come across an emptied class, these boys would not even stop at coins.
“An outdated phone like the Nokia 3310 could fetch RM50 to RM100 when traded in. That’s why stealing mobile phones is good business.”
Besides schoolmates’ belongings, Alan has also stolen magazines and a camping parang from Central Market, and candies from 7-11 because “it’s just so easy”.
He has also stolen a music CD from Kota Raya for “a friend who wanted it but didn’t want to pay for it”.
He stole textbooks from a bookstore in KL, and pocketed the book money his mother gave him for his own use.
“What I did was to just buy a cheap workbook, and after that, went around the store filling the plastic bag with textbooks.”
“I did not pay a single sen for my textbooks that year,” he said.
Throughout form three and early form four, he stole hair gels and wax from a pharmacy in a departmental store near his home “every time I run out of them”.
“The most important thing I observed when stealing was to make sure no one was watching, and there was no cctv anywhere near.”
“Then, I would discard the price tag so that the sensor panels couldn’t detect the item hidden in my bag,” he said.
Alan said he was never caught in form three although he stole many times because “I was skilled”.
“Initially, I was a little afraid, but I managed to successfully do it and get away with it time and again, so in the end, it’s like nothing to me,” he said.
Over-confidence and greed proved to be the downfall for Alan.
One day in March, when he was in form four, Alan and three friends decided to steal some camping equipment in a departmental store.
They managed to grab some candles from the supermarket and a branded shirt from the men’s department.
“I brought in two shirts into the changing room, but made it look as if I was bringing only one in.”
“Once inside, I stuffed one into my backpack. Then, I came out and handed the other shirt to the salesperson,” he said.
Just when they were about to leave, Alan suggested to his friends that they might as well go for the camping tents since they had been successful all this while.
Each tent was one metre long and a quarter of a metre wide and tall, but that did not deter the foursome to coolly stroll into the sports department, take two tents and make their way out through the parking lot.
When they reached the lot, Alan realised they were being tailed by a security guard.
He notified his friends, but the guard had already radio-ed for help, and before the boys knew it, four guards appeared from all directions.
The guards chased after the boys and tried to apprehend them.
A bouncer-like guard managed to grab hold of Alan by his neck.
As Alan struggled in his clutch, one of his friends took a tent and swung it onto the guard’s neck.
The impact made the guard scream in pain and release Alan.
Alan made a dash but when he realised the other guards had already overpowered his friends, he surrendered.
The guards led them into the security room and drew up a list of items stolen and the cost incurred, which amounted to about RM500.
The boys, who were clothed in uniform, were given a choice of having either the police or their school be notified of this matter.
The boys chose their school but the guards eventually called their parents, as they were underaged.
Alan’s mom rushed to the scene and settled the bill.
He could never forget that day in his life because once home, to his surprise, his parents did not reprimand him, let alone punish him.
Instead, they cried, regretting the failure in their duty as parents as they did not raise their son to be a righteous person.
“When I saw my parents shed tears because of my actions, I realised the anguish I’d caused them.”
“My dad said we were not rich, but he never once wanted me and my sibling to feel deprived in any way, which is why he worked his fingers to the bone every day to provide enough food on the table, nice clothes on our back, and good education for us.”
“My heart broke when I heard that. Knowing that my parents worked so hard for an honest living, while I went around being a thief, made me ashamed.”
Alan promised he would never steal anymore, and had kept to his word ever since.
His friends also repented and had put a stop to their wayward actions since that day.
“I do not miss the heydays when every theft I accomplished was treated as a feather added to my cap.”
“I was stupid, but the most important thing is I’ve learnt my lesson, the expensive and hard way.”
