MALACCA • At least two robbers made off with an unknown amount of cash yesterday after bombing an automated teller machine (ATM) in a town in Malacca, state police told Bernama.

Police have stepped up patrols in the Malaysian state after the early morning bombing in Ayer Keroh.

They are working to identify the duo and ascertain the amount of money stolen, Bernama said.

Some media reports said three masked men in a luxury car were caught on CCTV planting two explosive devices at the ATM kiosk.

Malacca police chief Chuah Ghee Lye said initial investigations indicate that the suspects were bomb experts. "The way the suspects placed the bomb show they have a certain level of expertise," he said, adding that police had noticed similar plots to bomb ATMs before, but none of them succeeded.

Mr Chuah said another bomb was found at the scene after the incident, but it did not explode. A bomb squad later removed it.

"We are checking if it was used for backup or left behind," he was quoted by Bernama as saying. "We are analysing the bomb to identify its type, and the culprits involved."

A district police chief said that the second bomb was found active and was believed to have misfired.

Mr Chuah said that the police would trawl through CCTV recordings in the vicinity to identify suspect individuals and vehicles entering and leaving the ATM premises.