Man uses M-16 rifle to rob sundry shop

MALAYSIA - A robber in the Malaysian state of Kelantan recently used an assault rifle to rob a sundry shop and, together with his accomplices, made away with just RM300 (S$115).

He used a military-grade M-16.

But not only were the robber’s pickings meagre, he was arrested within 30 minutes of committing the crime, the New Straits Times reported.

State deputy police chief Mazlan Lazim said the 51-year-old man approached the shop at 8.15pm on Monday. He and two accomplices arrived in a Proton Wira.

He said: “While one man waited in the car, another fired a shot into the shop. His accomplice threatened a female cashier with a parang and took the money. Then the trio drove off.”

Police combed nearby areas after receiving a tip-off that the suspects had been seen at a nearby restaurant.

Said Mr Mazlan: “When they spotted a police car, they ran, but we arrested one of them while the other two escaped on foot.”

The deputy police chief added that after checks, police seized the M-16 used in the robbery from the back seat of the car.

WORE FACE MASKS

He said that two of the men had worn face masks when they walked towards the shop, which had two workers inside.

The single shot hit a refrigerator before the other man went inside and placed the parang on the cashier’s shoulders.

Mr Mazlan said it was discovered that the M-16 had been bought on credit for RM4,000 in the Thai border town of Sungai Golok.

It is believed that the trio had planned to rob a goldsmith shop next to the sundry shop, but it was closed when they arrived.

Said Mr Mazlan: “We believe that they were going to use the loot to pay for the M-16.”

Sundry shop assistant Rozailan Irwan Mohd Jefriooi, 27, told the New Straits Times that the man with the rifle opened fire without warning.

He said: “It was frightening as I was only 2m from where the bullet hit the fridge.”

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