Malaysian police tracking down 4 suspects for armed robbery involving luxury watches in JB restaurant
Two men were wounded, as the suspects made away with three Rolex watches from the heist at Taman Mount Austin.
The armed robbery occurred in Monet Music Restaurant at Taman Mount Austin in Johor Bahru on Jun 8, 2022. (Photo: CNA/Amir Yusof)
JOHOR BAHRU: Johor police are tracking down four suspects, after they robbed employees of a luxury watch retailer who were waiting in a Johor Bahru restaurant to finalise a deal with a buyer.
Waitress Chan Jia Yi, who was on duty at Monet Music Restaurant at Taman Mount Austin last Wednesday (Jun 8), told CNA that the masked suspects had entered the eatery from the back door, wielding parangs.
She recalled how one of them pointed the sharp end of the weapon at her face and gestured for her to move aside.
“I froze in fear,” Ms Chan said when interviewed on Monday (Jun 13). “(I thought they) wanted to hold me at knife-point. I felt that my life was in danger.”
However, the four men moved past her into a private VIP room, where a business transaction involving luxury watches was due to take place.
A man and a woman, who were representing a watch company, were inside the room along with another man who was their bodyguard,” said Ms Chan.
She said that the masked men then slashed the two men inside the room, before grabbing the luxury watches and a gold ring. The robbers then left via the same backdoor.
“The whole thing happened within two to three minutes,” added Ms Chan.
In a statement issued last Thursday, Johor police said it was tracking down four male suspects for their suspected involvement in an armed robbery.
The statement added that the suspects were “tall and lean”, had worn black masks and were equipped with parangs.
The police said that the suspects escaped in a grey Toyota Estima. They also said that three Rolex watches and a gold ring were stolen.
In response to CNA’s queries, officer in charge of the case Inspector Satishkuru S/O Kandasamy said on Monday that the police were still conducting investigations.
STAFF, CUSTOMERS FLED RESTAURANT IN FEAR
Ms Chan, the waitress, told CNA that in the immediate aftermath of the incident, she had rushed to the front counter to inform her colleagues about what was happening.
This triggered chaos, as restaurant staff and customers fled the scene, many of them rushing out of the front door, she said.
However, Ms Chan said that a customer, whom she later found was a Singaporean, went into the private room after the suspects had left.
The customer, along with a restaurant staff member, helped to tend to the injuries of the two men.
“One of them had a big gash on his arm while the other was bleeding from his back. It was only four hours later, around 5pm, that the restaurant resumed operations,” said Ms Chan.
The three individuals who were robbed were employees of local watch retailer V-Time. Director of V-Time, Mr Jimmy Cai, told CNA that one of his employees who injured his arm during the incident had to undergo an operation.
“He is suffering from nerve damage and doctors say it might take six months for him to recover fully,” said Mr Cai.
Mr Cai also told CNA that his employees had attended the meeting because they were scheduled to finalise a deal involving the luxury watches with a client who they had been in contact with.
He added that the client, who referred to himself as “Datuk Sim”, had booked a private room at Monet Music Restaurant last Wednesday and ordered food worth more than RM5,000 (US$1,131).
Mr Cai believed that the buyer had planned the robbery, as the latter’s representatives did not show up for the meeting. He also noted that the four suspects knew which room to enter to rob the victims.
He also said the robbers left with three Rolex watches, including one which was worn by one of his employees, as well as a gold ring belonging to the female employee.
Mr Cai said that the watches stolen were worth around RM500,000 in total.
“I think we have to relook and ensure that our clients are genuinely interested to buy from us, for the safety of our employees,” said Mr Cai.
Manager for Monet Music Restaurant Mr Sean Tay told CNA that the outlet was looking to step up security measures to ensure the safety of its customers.
“We have installed CCTV cameras but we also want to hire more security personnel as well,” said Mr Tay.
“We were not the target for this robbery but we are not taking anything for granted."
