KUALA LUMPUR - TO teach snatch thieves a lesson, police have proposed that the punishment which awaits them be in the form of social work, like sweeping the streets.

Bukit Aman CID director Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Mohd Zinin said the offenders should also wear signs on their shirts that read 'I am a snatch thief' to shame them so that they repent.

'We propose that snatch offenders carry out social work by sweeping the streets, on the same streets where they used to prey for victims eight to 12 hours daily,' he said on Tuesday.

Mr Bakri said this was necessary as the present punishment was ineffective and did not deter snatch thieves from re-offending.

However, the punishment in developed countries including the United States would have to be studied first before being implemented here, he said. He also noted that the force could only enforce the law but it is up to the courts to punish the offenders.

Mr Bakri urged the public to co-operate with police in checking the rise in snatch theft cases committed by Mat Rempit.

Two months' pregnant Jamilah Selamat, 32, died two days after falling from her motorcycle in a snatch theft in Ayer Hitam, Batu Pahat, Johor last week. A day later, four months' pregnant Saripah Mohd Noor, 33, died after falling from her motorcycle during a snatch theft at Kampung Padang Raja, in Ketereh, Kelantan. - BERNAMA/THE STAR