GEORGE TOWN: The crime rate in Penang declined by 7.7 per cent from January to June this year compared with the same period last year.
Penang police Special Branch chief SAC Cheong Koon Kock said the drop was due to constant tip-offs from the public and people's close ties with the police.
Cheong added that violent crimes, too, had dropped by 25.6 per cent and property theft had gone down by 3.4 per cent in the first five months of the year.
Earlier, he presented prizes and certificates to the top three winners and consolation prizes to participants of the Police Fishing Competition with Community Policing at the Marine Police Base here in Batu Uban.