Police arrest security guard in ATM heist probe

KOTA KINABALU - A security guard was arrested as police continue their probe into an incident where five masked men blew up two automated teller machines (ATMs) at a bank near here.

Penampang police chief Deputy Supt Rosley Hobden said the man was detained to assist them in their investigations into the 4.20am heist on Friday at the bank at Putatan Plaza.

He said the bank had disclosed that the total amount stolen from both ATM machines was just over RM254,000.

“We are asking anyone who might have any information about this incident to provide to the nearest police station,” said Rosley.

He said police had launched a manhunt to track down the suspects involved in the robbery.

In the incident, the five robbers took less than 10 minutes to blow up the ATM machines and grab the metal containers housing the cash inside.

Sabah CID chief Datuk Salehhudin Abd Rahman did not rule out that it could be the same group that blasted an ATM in the town of Membakut and escaped with RM70,000 on May 11.