http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,135288,00.html?HEY had just robbed an elderly woman and her family at knife point at her home, and were not expecting the police to show up.
But the police did show up.
Yet the three robbers managed to escape, running right past them and into the bushes, a witness said.
The New Straits Times reported that a neighbour saw the robbers plead with the policemen not to shoot them and they dashed off while the cops hesitated.
The robbery took place at 5.30am on Friday at the home of MsRLakshmi 27, in Taman Perling, Johor.
Ms Lakshmi said that three men armed with a parang, a knife and a pair of scissors, entered her house just as she, her son and her daughter were preparing for morning prayers.
DEMANDED JEWELLERY
'They forced us into a room and ordered us to hand over our jewellery,' said Ms Lakshmi, adding that the men were in their 20s and had climbed over her gate and walked in through her unlocked front door.
'When we said we had no jewellery, they threatened us. My daughter then told them that the jewellery was in another room.
'When they got the jewellery and money, they tried to escape by the back entrance. I then heard one of them say that there was a policeman and so they ran out through the front.'
A neighbour had apparently called the police after he suspected that something was amiss.
The neighbour, who did not want to be named, said he saw two policemen at the front gate of Ms Lakshmi's house while the robbers were still inside.
'They just stood and watched,' he said.
'When one of the robbers ran out from the house, the policemen ordered him to squat down. They threatened to shoot him if he ran away.
'But the robber pleaded with him, saying, 'Please do not shoot me. I have two children', and quickly ran into the bushes in front of the house.
'Seeing their accomplice had managed to escape, the other two robbers followed and ran into the bushes.
'The policemen later gave chase, but their attempt was futile.'
The robbers, who escaped with RM15,000 ($6,630) in cash and jewellery, left behind two motorcycles at the scene.
Ms Lakshmi's strange day didn't end there.
She said that while the police were still at her house, a woman arrived to look for the owner of one of the motorcycles.
'She asked if I had seen the owner of one of the motorcycles, which she said belonged to her husband,' she said.
'But when the police questioned her, she changed her story, saying that she had come to see why there were so many people surrounding my house.'
Johor Baru South district police chief Assistant Commissioner Shafie Ismail said initial investigations showed that the policemen were at the back door when the robbers escaped through the front.
key is how did the policemen and the robbers communicated if they are at different doors???
Or should we all shout -> Kelong Kelong..
