ALOR STAR: A lone robber armed with a pump-action shotgun and an axe successfully fled with gold items worth RM178,000 after robbing a jewelry store on Jalan Langgar, here, yesterday.
The suspect reportedly greeted a female employee in the store with a 'Hi' before taking approximately three minutes to snatch the gold items.
Kota Star acting district police chief Syed Basri Syed Ali said police received distress calls regarding the incident from the store owner's child at 5:10pm yesterday.
He said that the complainant informed the police that the suspect was armed with a shotgun and an axe.
"Investigation found that the suspect is believed to be stout, about 170 centimeters tall, wearing a white helmet, a blue jacket, black pants, black shoes, and carrying a badminton bag.
"The suspect entered the jewelry store alone, greeted a female employee before placing his bag on the floor, opened it, pulled out a shotgun, and pointed it towards the female employee," he said when contacted today.
Syed Basri said that the suspect, wearing gloves, took out an axe from the bag and broke the gold display glass cabinet several times until it shattered.
He said the suspect successfully took the gold items from the display table, comprising 32 gold chain strands estimated to be worth RM178,000.
"The suspect placed the stolen items into the bag and immediately fled towards the left side of the store.
"At the time of the incident, there were no customers, only a female employee, a woman believed to be the store manager, and a man, the store owner's child," he added.
Syed Basri said that the lone suspect was believed to have used a dark-colored Suzuki Raider motorcycle.
He added that the case is being investigated under Section 4 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 for displaying firearms during a robbery.