Men rob parents at knifepoint in school

Several men held up parents at knifepoint before robbing them of their valuables and mobile phones inside a school compound in Johor Baru, Malaysia.

The men pretended to be guardians picking up children from the school.

The incident happened at 1.50pm on Saturday as some of the parents were waiting at the school hall for their children to finish their hour-long music class at SJKT Mount Austin in Taman Desa Tebrau, reported Malaysia's The Star.

Housewife S. Sivakami (above), 42, said she was reading a book in the school hall when at least three men, in their 20s and 30s, walked up to the parents.

"I thought they were asking for directions, but I got a shock when I saw them carrying a parang. One of the parents was also hit in the back.

"The suspects then asked all the parents to hand over their jewellery and mobile phones," she said.

FORCED FACE DOWN

Ms Sivakami said the suspects forced everyone to lie face down on the floor.

A female guard was assaulted when she was unable to kneel.

"It was a frightening experience and I was worried for the safety of my daughter, who was studying upstairs with about 20 other students," she said. The suspects took her mobile phone and necklace worth RM2,000 (S$770).

Ms Sivakami said that once the suspects had taken their valuables, one of them decided to head to the classroom but then changed his mind and came back.

"The suspects then herded us into a corner before they left. The whole incident took place within 10 minutes," she said.

Johor Baru South OCPD Sulaiman Salleh said three police reports had been lodged so far.

This article was published on April 8 in The New Paper.

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