SHAH ALAM (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Selangor police said on Friday (May 12) they will conduct further investigations into gang robberies in the state following the fatal shoot-out between robbers and police in the township of Wangsa Maju.

In Thursday's incident, police shot four men believed to be members of the Civic Gang who robbed a Chinese national of RM40,000 as he was about to settle some business matters at the Institute of Translation and Books.

The victim earlier withdrew the money at a bank in Sri Gombak.

Kuala Lumpur CID chief Senior Asst Comm Rusdi Mohd Isa said the men were aged between 37 and 49, with three of them holding Indonesian passports. Another had permanent resident status.

Selangor Police chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Abdul Samah Mat said there have been at least 30 similar cases in the state.

"We believe that members of the same group are involved but we will need more time to investigate and prove it," he said.

Comm Abdul Samah said many of the victims in the state ran their own businesses and would make large withdrawals of between RM30,000 (S$9,714) and RM200,000.

"Once gang members have identified the targets, they would wait for them to exit the bank before robbing the victims as they got into their cars or corner them mid-way to their destinations," he said.

On a separate case, Comm Abdul Samah said a task force has been set up to track down suspects in the Medinis BBQ Restaurant robbery in Taman Melawati.

"We have made some progress but I am not ready to make any announcement," he said.

Last Saturday, six men armed with machetes entered the eatery and robbed patrons and employees before fleeing with cash and valuables worth close to RM30,000.