In the early hours of Monday, August 1, 2022, an intruder, suspected to be a criminal, was found within the premises of the hall. He was said to have stolen the footwear of a male Brownite at E Block. After he was apprehended, a security alert which displayed his picture was circulated among Brownites, calling their attention to this and enjoining them to be more security-conscious and follow certain safety precautions in order to guard themselves against suspect strangers.
Days before the suspect was caught, he was seen trailing a female Brownite to her room, but fled as soon as he was sighted. On interrogation on Monday, he said he was following her because he was trying to see if he could ask her out. After due interrogation, he was paraded from block to block by the defence team so that Brownites would note his face and report him to the appropriate quarters in the event that he appeared in the hall again.
The man was locked up in the security room after he was publicly displayed to Brownites. ABH Press interviewed the Head of the Security Unit, Mr. Lucky, on what the fate of the suspect would be. He said, “We can’t take him to the police station because the owner of the property he stole is not willing to go and write a statement. It isn’t worth the stress of having to appear at the police station from time to time because of a pair of rubber slippers. So we decided to take the guy around the hall so that the next time he walks into ABH, he will be recognised, and the security will be alerted. Also, I have spoken on the phone with the security office in UI and explained everything that happened this morning. They also said that since the owner of the property stolen is not willing to write a statement, it would be pointless to take him to the police station. I was instructed to write an extract (detailing everything that happened), give him a strong warning not to come back to ABH, and then release him.”
Recall that two months ago, a suspect was also caught in ABH and brought to public shaming. Unlike this time, selected Brownites were allowed to take turns beating him in an exercise organised by the Defence Minister to dispense “justice on a judgement table” and then handed over to some military personnel. This elicited diverse opinions from Brownites, both for and against this action, and arguments which lingered for a considerable period of time on various platforms.
While intrusions into ABH are not entirely preventable, every Brownite can protect themselves and their valuables to a large extent by following the advice of the Hall Executive Council to be more security-conscious, lock their doors at all times, not leave their room keys in easily accessible places, and report any suspicious movement in the hall without hesitation.
