PETALING JAYA: A lone robber, who is believed to have been frustrated after failing to rob a goldsmith shop in Arau, Perlis, turned to robbing another jewellery shop in Alor Star six hours later on Monday.
Armed with a shotgun commonly used by security guards, the robber looted five trays of gold in his second heist.
The robbery at 7.30pm at a goldsmith store at the Alor Mengkudu Mydin shopping centre in Alor Star was captured in four videos by bystanders and a close-circuit security camera at the shop.
The videos showed the robber with a full-face helmet walking into the store carrying a shoulder bag.
He dropped the bag to take out a shotgun while two female staff of the store looked on curiously.
When he pulled out the firearm and briefly pointed it at the women, they bolted in fear before triggering a security alarm at the store.
The robber who appeared unperturbed by the din, shouldered his shotgun and whipped out an axe from his bag. He smashed the jewellery showcases before scooping out the gems and stuffing it into his bag.
Earlier at about 1.30pm, the same robber was believed to have attempted another heist at a goldsmith’s store at the Chin Hin business centre in Arau.
In the botched heist, he failed to smash the bullet-proof glass jewellery showcases after hammering it repeatedly with an axe. He was seen wearing the same clothes in the second robbery.
Arau police chief Supt Nanda Maarof said the robber fled the building after failing to smash the showcases. He said police believe the man fled in a car driven by an accomplice.
“The robber fled empty-handed and there were no losses suffered by the goldsmith store. However, the store owner who is a woman in her 50s suffered a panic attack and was taken to hospital for treatment,“ he told theSun when contacted.
Nanda also said the robber was probably a staff of a security firm as the shotgun he carried was similar to those used by armed security guards. Police believe both cases were committed by the same robber.
