Malaysian robbers steal cakes, not cash, in botched heist

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27, 2008 (AFP) - Malaysian robbers ran off with a bag of cakes instead of 1.9 million ringgit (560,000 dollars) in cash, in a botched heist that left a money changer shot and wounded, reports said Wednesday

In the second robbery to hit Malaysian airports this year, two masked gunmen fired 10 shots at a money changer at northern Penang state's airport, the Star daily reported.

Security guard Zainol Othman, who accompanied the money changer as he got out of a van and placed his personal bags on a trolley, told the paper he fled with the cash when the robbers attacked.

"I knew it was a robbery. The first thought that came to mind was to save the money," he told the Star.

"In the midst of the commotion, the robbers grabbed the money changer's bags, thinking that I had already placed the money bag onto the trolley," he said.

The newspaper said the thieves sped off in a getaway car with the bags, one of which contained mooncakes, a Chinese delicacy.

The money changer was sent to the hospital where he was in a stable condition.

In April, thieves escaped with more than one million dollars after attacking two money changers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Copy from Yahoo News

Quoting from [Keat Ta Kia]:

Moneychanger shot in robbery attempt (updated)

 

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Three masked robbers fired several shots at a money changer at Bayan Lepas International Airport and snatched a clothing bag from a trolley he was pushing into the lobby on Tuesday.

One of the bullets hit the ear of the money changer who had earlier picked up another bag containing various currencies worth RM1.9mil from a security firm's vehicle.

Permatang Pauh by-election media relations officer Supt Shaharon Anuar Abdul Latif told Bernama that in the 9.30am incident, the robbers, aged between 20 and 40, fled in a black Toyota Harrier vehicle.

He said police found the getaway vehicle which did not have a registration plate in a construction site near the airport.

"Police are investigating and mounting up roadblocks in Penang island and have traced the vehicle owner based on its chassis number," he said. - Bernama

Copy from Star News - 26 Aug

Thursday August 28, 2008

Man held over botched airport robbery

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Police have detained a man in his 30s in connection with the botched armed robbery at the Penang International Airport on Tuesday. State police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Wira Ayub Yaacob said the suspect was picked up at his house in Nibong Tebal near here early yesterday morning. He has been remanded to facilitate investigations. “We are looking for the other suspects,” he told a press conference at the Central Seberang Prai district police headquarters yesterday. In the 9.30am incident on Tuesday, a moneychanger was shot in the robbery by three masked men, two armed with pistols, while a fourth man waited in a getaway vehicle. The moneychanger was about to receive American and Singapore dollars, British pounds, and euros from a security guard hired to transport the cash in an armoured vehicle outside the airport entrance when the robbers struck. They grabbed the moneychanger's two bags which were on an airport trolley but missed RM1.9mil in another suitcase held by the security guard. The victim, aged 59, was on his way to board a flight to deliver the cash to his counterpart in Singapore. DCP Ayub said the gunmen fired 10 shots, three of which hit the victim's abdomen. “Police recovered six bullet casings on the floor,” he said, adding that the victim was currently undergoing treatment at the Penang Hospital after a surgery.

copy from star news 28 Aug