Robbers blast open ATM machine in Malaysia town, escape with almost S$24,000

The thieves got away with about RM70,000 after they blasted open an ATM in a bank in the small town of Membakut. PHOTO: THE STAR/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK

KOTA KINABALU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Thieves got away with about RM70,000 (S$24,000) after they blasted open an automated teller machine (ATM) in a bank in the small town of Membakut, about 100km from Kota Kinabalu at around 2am on Wednesday (May 11).

It was learned that the thieves had used homemade explosives and crowbars to force open the ATM before fleeing with the money from the bank premises.

The bank has a security guard till 5pm but did not employ security guard services for overnight watch at their premises.

However, police are now looking at CCTV footage to identify the suspects who were believed to have fled the district immediately.

When contacted, Beaufort district police chief Deputy Superintendent Azmir Abdul Razak confirmed the incident and said that investigations were underway. He declined to comment further.

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