The two suspects being led away for questioning following their arrest by state D9 personnel yesterday afternoon.
KUCHING: Three security guards were arrested in connection with an early-morning armed robbery of a 24-hour coffee shop here yesterday.
State CID chief SAC Dev Kumar said the incident took place around 4.30am when three masked men, armed with knives and iron rods, showed up at the coffee shop and assaulted a 19-year-old female worker.
“The woman was mopping the floor when the trio showed up and she tried to hide underneath the cashier’s counter.
“Unfortunately, one of the suspects spotted her and slapped her across the face while demanding for money while another struck her shoulder with an iron rod,” he said in a statement.
The suspects then used the iron rod to smash open the cash register machine and stole about RM2,000 from the tray before assaulting a 37-year-old male worker by striking his head with the iron rod.
“At that juncture, the suspects fled after the female worker started to scream.
“One of the suspects, a 22-year-old, was apprehended by members of the public while the others escaped with the loot.”
The apprehended suspect, who sustained minor injuries on his face resulting from a scuffle with the public, was handed over to police for medical treatment.
He has since been held at Tabuan Jaya Police Station lockup and is being remanded for three days to facilitate investigation.
Dev Kumar further revealed that a follow-up operation carried out by state D9 personnel led to the arrest of the other suspects in their respective homes yesterday afternoon.
“The first suspect, a 34-year-old, was arrested at his house at Kampung Semenggok at 12.50pm, while the second, a 24-year-old, was picked up at Bandar Baru Semariang at 2pm,” he said, adding an envelope containing RM251 was seized from the first suspect.
The three suspects, whom Dev Kumar said worked as security guards but had recently applied to become auxilliary policemen, will be questioned further about the weapons used in the robbery and their involvement in other similar cases.
“I thank and commend the public for their bravery and quick action in apprehending one of the suspects.
“They acted without fear for their safety and assisted us in solving this case.
“Kudos also goes to the state D9 team for their quick follow-up action in arresting the remaining two suspects.”