GEORGE TOWN: Greed, mental health and substance abuse issues were possible factors why professionals such as doctors were involved in criminal acts such as burglary, says criminologist Assoc Prof Datuk Dr P. Sundramoorthy of Universiti Sains Malaysia.

“It is not unusual for professionals to be involved in crimes as there are typically well-educated professionals who were found to have committed white-collar crimes such as financial and cybercrime.

“However, it is a little unusual for a crime like house break-ins or robbery to be committed by these people.

“Obviously, these professionals are well-educated and have the intelligence to commit the crime and may have thought that their act will not be detected by the police, ” he said.

Dr Sundramoorthy was commenting on a recent case where a doctor, who lived in a posh condominium in Gurney Drive, was involved in break-ins of 22 units in the block over the last six years.

The 38-year-old man’s modus operandi was to check if his neighbours’ doors and windows were open in the wee hours and if so, he would sneak in and steal valuables in the living room.

He was caught last Thursday and police found quite a stash when they checked his home.

In an unrelated incident, police also arrested a trainee doctor together with her husband and another man for allegedly burglarising 13 units in another block of condominiums not far away in Tanjung Tokong.

Dr Sundramoorthy said greed may have been a factor, adding that their act was unacceptable.

“Sometimes, questions arise on whether these professionals have mental or emotional health issues that led them to commit such crimes. However, these can only be verified through evaluation and assessment from a medical check-up, ” he said.

Dr Sundramoorthy also pointed out that these professionals might have problems with substance abuse.

He, however, dismissed the argument claiming that people sometimes committed crimes to challenge themselves as illogical.

He added that the public cannot make the assumption that all professionals such as doctors were not capable of committing crime.

“There are professionals, for instance, who were found to be paedophiles and had never been caught, but data from law enforcement agencies from around the world has shown quite substantial numbers of professionals who were found to have committed the offences.

“There is also the possibility that these professionals might have grown up in undesirable circumstances or had a circle of friends that may have influenced them to become what they are.

“But still, individually, they are responsible for their act unless proven in a report that there is some mental or emotional disorder, ” he said.

This article first appeared on TheStar.