The Streets of Chow Kit

Polite Criminals, swiped from koobz on Flickr.

Currently, I'm working at my customer's site at Chow Kit. Being an old area, the place really exudes character. Bad character to be exact. In the background of urban decay, the sex trade in Chow Kit is well-known. Colleagues have told me that during their university days, they would purposely drive down to take a spin around the area. Transexual sex workers are often seen in broad daylight, waiting at the foot of the stairs and at back alleys. Business must be bad to have to open shop so early. Those near my office are considered familiar faces already. Another regular is the substance abuser who inhales glue fumes. He is often scene listlessly loitering on the five foot walkway with a plastic bag in hand (no doubt filled with Dunlop glue). Very young. Don't think he has showered in ages. Peeping toms were also rampant in the office building. As a result, all the toilets have access cards and the women's toilets require keys! Talk about good building security. Worse of all are the snatch thieves outside. A colleague's iPhone was snatched while crossing the road. Another had his gold chain snatched while working on Saturday. He was walking on the pedestrian walkway beside the main road and the snatcher bypassed the fencing to ambush him from behind. And I recently say a woman sobbing by the roadside, most probably just had her handbag snatched just minutes before I arrived. Fantastic right? Have to be ever vigilant there. Must be observant and aware of one's surroundings. Walking to the Sultan Ismail LRT can also be a challenge as the pedestrian bridge is sometimes dark and unmanned by security guards. But the good news is that the pedestrian elevated walkway is now open, connecting the Sultan Ismail LRT to Maju Junction and slightly beyond. Must be ever vigilant especially with the police declaring that existing laws aren't enough for them to go after criminals (but good enough to use against meek citizens) and God forbid they are too understaffed to patrol the streets (too many assigned as escorts for VVIPs kot).