Low prices fail to deter thieves from stealing Malaysia’s premium durians

Falling durian prices have done little to deter thieves in Malaysia, with a Penang trader losing baskets of prized Black Thorn variety in two break-ins just days apart.Wenny Ooi, 27, said thieves targeted her family’s stall twice on June 25 and June 29, marking the first break-ins since they started the business six years ago.In the first incident, two baskets of Black Thorn, also known as Or Chi, were stolen but footage from the surveillance camera shows only one thief leaving with a basket of durians, she said on Thursday.She suspected that the thief loaded the fruits onto a vehicle waiting outside before fleeing the scene.“Four days later, at about 1am, my stall was broken into again. This time, the thief was armed with a knife but left with only a basket of spoiled durians,” she added. Following the two incidents, Ooi said her family had increased the number of guard dogs at the stall.Durian farmer Tan Chee Keat, 35, said durian thefts have become a near daily occurrence at his orchard in Sungai Ara, with trespassers sneaking in during the early hours to collect freshly fallen fruits.“They usually come in groups of two or three, carrying sacks, and each time they can make off with more than 10kg (22lbs) of durians,” Tan said.He said his workers would normally begin collecting durians between 5am and 6am using headlamps while it was still dark, making it easy for thieves to spot their movements.