‘Bullet-proof’ counters prevent jewellery heist at a mall in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA, Malaysia — Thanks to “bullet-proof” display counters, a group of hammer-wielding robbers failed to remove jewellery from an outlet in a Shah Alam mall last Monday.

Despite continuously swinging their hammers against the showcase counters with great effort, the robbers were unable to break through the durable material and were forced to flee empty-handed.

Shah Alam Deputy OCPD Supt Nek Zaidi Zakaria confirmed the case, saying six suspects were involved in the robbery.

Kedai Emas Sri Alam, which is located inside a shopping mall in Shah Alam, had posted a CCTV video recording on its Facebook page on Tuesday, which has since gone viral on social media.

The 42-second video showed two robbers smashing at the display counters with hammers as shop employees run for safety.

Seen standing nearby are two other accomplices, one of whom is holding what appears to be a pistol. All four are wearing motorcycle helmets with heavily-tinted visors.

By the end of the video, after about thirty hammer swings, the robbers were still struggling for a “breakthrough”.

A shop employee, who was present during the incident, said damage caused by the robbers is estimated at about RM80,000.

“We haven’t checked our stock thoroughly but from what I saw, the robbers didn’t get away with anything,” he added.

He was unable to confirm if the transparent material was made of polycarbonate but said that contractors had told them it was “bullet-proof”.

In fact, the owner was planning to fit the counters with materials of an even higher quality, he said.

The Facebook post has since garnered at least 4.5 million views, 31,060 shares and 4,036 comments.

In the post, the store said that it would be closed for two weeks for repairs but would resume normal operations when renovations were done.

State police chief Comm Datuk Mazlan Mansor said a task force has been set up to investigate all robbery cases in Selangor, including the one in Shah Alam.

“We are monitoring and hope to arrest the suspects responsible for the crime as quickly as possible,” he said after the handover ceremony between former Kajang OCPD Senior Asst Comm Othman Nayan and the district’s new police chief Asst Comm Ahmad Dzaffir Mohd Yusoff./rga