Hence, a total ban on such machines may affect those who rely on it to do their daily chores or go to work, say police.

“Snatch thefts are usually committed by motorcyclists and this happens in certain areas. Banning them may deter crime but it impacts on the lives of many people,” said Bukit Aman Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department director Rusli Ahmad.

Rusli said banning the usage of the kapchai in some areas during certain hours of the day would be more feasible.

“We can ban motorcycles from crowded places like night markets because snatch thefts happen in areas where there are many people.”

He said the ban on kapchai was suggested by Kuala Lumpur City Hall before and police were still studying the impact of the move.

On Monday, Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the ban might be enforced once reasonably priced public transport was available.

Rusli said snatch thefts only represent a small percentage of overall crime.

“There are also good people using kapchai for work. What is going to happen if we suddenly tell them that they can no longer use them?”