MELAKA: Police arrested three civil servants suspected to be involved in blowing up an automated teller machine (ATM) at the Bandar Baru Utama, Masjid Tanah Bank Rakyat branch, here, last Sunday.
The men, aged between 23 and 24, were detained in Melaka and Kelantan by a special team 48 hours after the incident, said Melaka police chief, Datuk Chuah Ghee Lye.
He said the first suspect, 24, believed to be the mastermind, was nabbed here at 1pm last Sunday.
“Following interrogation, he led us to the second suspect, a 23-year-old detained at 5pm on the same day,” he told a news conference at the Melaka police headquarters, here, today.
He said the third suspect, 23, was arrested by Kelantan police in Pasir Puteh at 2.45am yesterday.
The initial investigation found the suspects, who admitted to blowing up the ATM, were acquainted and work in Melaka.
He said the suspects were being remanded for seven days from the date of arrest. The case is being investigated under Section 436 of the Penal Code for causing mischief by fire or explosive substance.
In the incident, closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera recordings revealed a man wearing a helmet and blue jacket affixing something to one of the two ATMs in the premises at 3.23am.
The bomb, believed to be handmade, exploded at 3.34am. It failed to break open the ATM machine and only damaged the outer portion.
The suspect who failed to get cash from the machine then fled on a motorcycle.–Bernama