This is a post in PhotoMalaysia about a member who has been robbed in the broad daylight by a group of youths. The robbery took place in Ara Damansara just opposite the police station. This is what he has to say:-

Dear all,

Very bad day while i were taking photos of lotus at a taman nearby my area in PJ, I were attached by 5 malay young guys (age around 20+) with long wood and knife. They hit my head and body while i struggling with them until i stopped when one guy putting his knife my my neck. I let go my D800 with Zeiss 100/2 and iphone 4s.

I am injured quite badly, 4 stitches on my head and 8 stitches on my finger.

Shall I stop taking photo with DSLR camera. Look like it is not safe and life threatening. This was my 2nd experience. I had the same experience in Paris last year.

image credit: sebestian kruger

This is not an isolated incident. The security in Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur in particular is getting worse by the day. This used to be a safe place for photographers to go around shooting on their own but recently, thief and robbery are hogging the headlines. To make matters worse, the robbers are very blatant and will cause body harm. Last year, during the Crossing Bridges Event, one of the participants from Singapore has his Canon 5D MkIII snatched from him by a motorcyclist.

If you want to do any shooting on the street make sure you go in a group and don’t carry too many equipment. Maybe just a camera body and one lens. Photosafari do organise local street shooting. The last one we organised was a few days back.