After a report earlier this month that someone was getting cheap thrills from stealing panties and bras left to dry outside several homes here, residents in nearby Ulu Tiram have complained that they are also finding their undergarments missing.
However, their initial suspicion that a sexual predator was at work turned out to be wrong when they discovered that the actual culprits were crows which have been stealing the lingerie to build their nests.
Not only that. The birds also steal scraps of food and leave their droppings all over the neighbourhood in several housing and business areas in the town, about 18km from here.
Resident Simon Lee, 38, claimed that more than 20 people in his neighbourhood had lost their undergarments in the last two months.
He said that initially the problem was not that serious. "But now, thousands of crows have made their homes in the trees that line the roads here," he said.
Another resident, Goh Sui Moi, 46, said she had to wash her car daily because of the droppings from the thousands of crows that also make a lot of noise when they converge.
Foodstall trader Tan Kim Moi, 52, said that the crows steal fish balls, vegetables, prawns and even bits of pork that she uses in her dishes.
She claimed that one of her customers was pecked by a bird that stayed put despite efforts to chase it away.
Taman Puteri Wangsa residents' association secretary Kee Yong Kiang said he had received more than 50 reports on the crow problem.
He said their complaints were forwarded to the Johor Baru Tengah Municipal Council, which sent a team to shoot the crows over the weekend.
Brian Tan, the special aide to Puteri Wangsa state assemblyman Datuk Abdul Halim Suleiman, said that the shooting operation, which also included Rela members, netted 181 crows.
He said he was working with the local council to address the problem.
The Star reported on March 5 that residents in Jalan Dato Mohd Salleh and Jalan Yahya Awal had complained that their undergarments were being stolen for more than a year and had no idea who the culprits were or where their lingerie ended up.
Besides women's undergarments, other items reportedly stolen included shoes, laptops, jewellery, mobile phones, jeans, passports, money and identity cards.
Source
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