KUCHING: Three masked robbers forced a contractor to open a safe deposit box at his home in Siburan before driving off with his pickup truck early yesterday morning.
The incident occurred around 3.30am when the robbers, who are believed to be foreign nationals, gained entry into the semi-detached house at Sentah Avenue by forcing open a grilled window.
Armed with a screwdriver and a pair of scissors, the trio confronted the 49-year-old contractor and his wife in their bedroom and forced him to open the safe deposit box which contained several pieces of gold jewellery.
After clearing out the safe, the masked men used telephone cables to bind the couple and their three children as well as the contractor’s mother and confined them inside a room before relieving them of five mobile phones.
The contractor managed to free himself after about 15 minutes and quietly exited the room to check if the robbers were still in the house. He soon learned that not only were they no longer in the house, but that they had driven off with his Toyota Hilux pickup truck as well.
When contacted over the incident, Padawan district police chief Supt Choo Yin Kok confirmed that police are currently making efforts to track down the perpetrators.
“A forensic team and a canine unit were despatched to the scene to assist in the investigation following the robbery. We are also
trying to trace the stolen pickup truck, a white Toyota Hilux, bearing the license plate QKW8666,” he said, adding that none of the occupants in the house were hurt during the incident.
Choo also said police did not discount the possibility that yesterday’s robbery was perpetrated by the same individuals who tied up and robbed a woman and her son at their house at Jalan Kung Ping the previous day.
In that incident, a 46-year-old woman and her 15-year-old son were confronted by four masked males -believed to be foreigners- and robbed of RM5,000 in cash, three mobile phones and an iPad.