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Published on March 18, 2008

The moment has come in so many ways.

With pork prices exploding, people are now stealing the stuff. Yesterday, a pork vendor in Satun province filed a complaint to police over the theft of half of a pig from his market stall. The value was Bt4,500. (Do you wonder who would steal a pig? Given the preponderance of Muslims in Satun, the number of culprits already shrinks considerably.)

I am more concerned with more serious cases following the collapse of a high-voltage tower after the screws that kept it intact were stolen.

This followed the reported theft of steel manhole covers from the public sewage network.

Fingers have been pointed at the thieves who committed these crimes without thinking of the impact upon the public. Certainly, it costs a huge amount to restore the tower, much higher than the sum they gained from selling the screws.

Such cases are widespread, because of poor law enforcement. Thieves simply have no fear of being caught.

I remember when copper prices started to skyrocket last year, and state agencies and private companies alike began to complain about the theft of cable wire, which paralysed power supplies and communications in surrounding areas. Yet complaints go nowhere, even though we know these thieves could do nothing with the copper but sell it to second-hand shops that ignore the source.

If the police were more serious, the thieves would not have had the guts to steal screws or manhole covers. It's one thing to ignore the damage their crimes are causing others, but at least the number of thefts would be much lower if the crooks knew they would definitely end up in jail.

Animal organisations have been proactive in this regard. After years of unsuccessful campaigns by wildlife conservationists to urge wildlife poachers to stop, they turned to pressuring the buyers. Once there are no more buyers, the killing of animals stops. What's the point?

Likewise, if there are no buyers for steel or copper scrap, why would thieves continue stealing public property?

Thus, two thumbs up for Wongpanich, a chain of second-hand shops in Phitsanulok province, which announced yesterday that all of its branches would not buy illegal items, particularly screws, water gauges and batteries. If approached by sellers of such items that may be illegal, the shops will require a copy of the seller's ID and have the documentation ready for police.

I think it is high time for such "No Buying, No Killing" campaigns, before we are cut off from the world after the power lines to our homes suddenly collapse.

Achara Deboonme

achara_d@nationgroup.com

The Nation