Woman leaving Penang bank distracted by stranger, robbed of RM22,000
NST
GEORGETOWN: A businesswoman was robbed of more than RM22,000 in cash when she was distracted by a stranger who engaged her in conversation.
The victim, who had just withdrawn the money from a bank, was about to drive off when she was approached by a man.
“The man knocked on her car’s driver-side window and told her she had dropped some money on the ground.
“She opened her car door, stepped out and saw money on the ground.
“But she told him it was not hers, and got back into her car,” Southwest district Supt Anuar Omar said in a statement today.
The man went away and it was when the victim was starting her car engine that she realised that her handbag, which she had place on the front passenger seat, was missing.
In addition to important personal documents, the victim’s bag contained the RM22,000 in cash, an additional RM400, and Indonesian currency worth RM730.
Based on a CCTV recording obtained by the police, two suspects had entered a bank at I-Avenue here, and sat in the waiting area without performing any transactions.
“The two male suspects then left the bank, following the victim.
“When the victim was in her car, one of the suspects approached the driver’s side of the vehicle. The victim alighted from her car briefly, before returning to her vehicle. Meanwhile, the second suspect went to the passenger’s side of the car when the victim was distracted,” he said, adding that police had found a palm print on the victim’s car.
The victim failed to identify the suspect she spoke to, but claims that he was a foreigner, based on the way he talked.
Investigations are ongoing.
