Man with pump gun targets gold shop, escapes with RM178,000 haul

ALOR SETAR - An armed man wielding a pump gun and machete robbed jewellery worth approximately RM178,000 from a gold shop on Jalan Langgar here yesterday.

The incident took place around 5pm when the suspect, described as stout-built and approximately 170 centimetres tall, entered the gold shop alone.

He greeted a female employee with a friendly "hi" before displaying his weapons.

According to Acting Kota Setar district police chief Superintendent Syed Basri Syed Ali, the suspect placed a bag on the floor, opened it, and retrieved a pump gun, pointing it directly at the female employee.

Donning gloves, the suspect then removed a machete from the bag and proceeded to smash the glass display cases, shattering them repeatedly.

"The suspect wore a white helmet, a blue jacket, black trousers, black shoes, and carried a badminton bag," he said in a statement today.

The suspect then took two trays containing 32 gold chains worth around RM178,000 from the display table.

Syed Basri said that the man placed the jewellery in the bag and immediately fled towards the left side of the gold shop, believed to have ridden a motorcycle.

"At the time of the incident, there were no customers, only a female employee, a woman believed to be the shop manager, and the shop owner's son," he said.

The case is being investigated under Section 4 of the Firearms Act (Heavier Penalty) 1971 for displaying firearms during a robbery.