PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A group of men made off with an automatic teller machine (ATM) safe at a petrol station in Shah Alam.

In the 5.30am incident on Wednesday (Dec 30), four men broke into the shop at the station by smashing the glass panel with a hammer.

The men then subdued two Bangladeshi workers before using the hammer to break open the front of the ATM.

Deputy Shah Alam district police chief Supt Nek Zaidi Zakaria said the men tied a rope around the safe inside the ATM and pulled it out using a lorry.

"There was about RM270,000 cash in the ATM at the time of the robbery.

"They also took RM700 from the cash register," he said yesterday.

He said all the men had their faces covered with helmets and caps.

He said the heist lasted for 15 minutes before the suspects fled the scene.

"Investigations are still ongoing and the estimated losses are still being evaluated," he said, adding that the case is being investigated under Section 395 and 397 of the Penal Code for gang robbery.