ATM bombers identified

RAWANG: Police believe they have identified the two robbers who fled empty handed after a failed attempt to blow up an automated teller machine (ATM) at a bank in Bukit Beruntung on Tuesday.
Selangor police deputy CID chief ACP Roslan Radzi said police are hot on the trail of both men, who are in their 20s and 30s.
Roslan said investigations carried out by a police forensics team showed that the homemade bomb that damaged the Public Bank branch in Jalan Melati 2B was made from powerful ball-shaped firecrackers, which is banned and commonly known as "mercun bola".
"We believe they have gone into hiding as we have looked for them in several places. Although it was made with low-impact explosives incapable of destroying hard metals, it is dangerous enough to cause injury and damage to property," he said.
Amid efforts to trace the burglars today, police were amused when they learned that the massive explosion was so immense that it even shocked the robbers, who took to their heels seconds after the blast.
From footage of a close-circuit security camera installed at the bank and witness accounts, police said the burglars appear to have underestimated capacity of the bomb and were stunned by the explosion and resulting damage.
"The blast even blew away their motorcycle that was parked outside the bank. They appeared so terrified that in their haste to escape, they dropped a second homemade explosive and a mobile phone at the scene. We believe it was their first attempt in pulling off such a crime," a source told theSun.
It is learned that the mobile phone gave police a break in the case.
Although the explosion caused considerable damage to the bank premises and ATMs, the cash vaults in the machines were unaffected and intact.