Bank guard kills man who holds woman hostage in robbery bid

KOTA TINGGI (June 18): An armed man who took a woman hostage during an attempted robbery in a bank in Felda Ayer Tawar 5 here was shot dead by a security guard today.

Johor CID chief SAC Md Yusof Ahmad said in the 2.04pm incident, the 19-year-old man had entered the bank and held a sickle to the neck of a female customer.

"From the closed-circuit television (CCTV) recording and witness statements, we found that the suspect came alone and suddenly grabbed the woman, who was in front of the bank, as a hostage.

"Before the victim could enter, the suspect pulled the roller shutters and threw a bag, saying he wanted money while placing the sickle on her neck,” he told reporters at the scene.

At this juncture, the security guard in the bank opened fire with his pump gun from about five metres away as the suspect was behaving aggressively, he added.

"The suspect was hit in the right ribs and died on the spot,” he said.

He said none of the bank staff or customers was injured in the incident.

Preliminary investigations showed that the suspect did not have any criminal records, he said.