Three-minute RM1.5m heist could be an inside job, cops say
By Emmanuel Santa Maria Chin
The Malay Mail Online2 January 2018
Police officers process the crime scene after the robbery at a jewellery store in Cheras on December 31, 2017.More
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 2 — Police are looking at the possibility of an inside job concerning a goldsmith robbery at a mall in Taman Segar, Cheras, where RM1.5 million in jewellery was looted within three minutes on New Year’s Eve.
Kuala Lumpur CID chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Rusdi Mohd Isa told Malay Mail at this stage all possible motives are still being explored.
“It is very early in investigations, but we are not ruling out the possibility.
“At this stage all angles will be taken into consideration when carrying out investigations,” he said.
Rusdi revealed that a task force has also been formed to look into details surrounding the case.
“I had a meeting with my department officers today and the team will look to solve the case as soon as possible,” he said.
Last Sunday, five men wearing full-face helmets and armed with hammers stormed into the goldsmith shop where five employees and a security guard were working at around 8.30pm.
The robbers were said to have five other accomplices standing by outside the mall on several motorcycles for their getaway.
Cheras district deputy police chief Supt Ismadi Borhan said investigators are in the midst of collecting footage from security cameras installed at the roads and buildings near the scene to identify the suspects.
“We are collecting the needed information from security cameras from the nearby buildings and those operated by the city council and the Road Transport Department to determine their escape route.
“They used the main roads when escaping from the scene leading us to believe the entire robbery could have been plotted earlier,” he said.
Ismadi said at least 10 statements have been recorded from witnesses at the scene to date.
The forensics team found several cigarette butts while combing the scene for evidence last Sunday, which may have a link to the case.
They also recovered a pump gun believed to have been discarded by the robbers in a drain nearby.
