Armed robber holds up POSBank branch, escapes with
cash
SINGAPORE : A man robbed a bank on Friday and got away with what a
POSBank spokesperson said was "not a large sum".
The robbery took place at a small branch at Block 501 West
Coast at about 4.10 pm.
No one was injured in the incident.
Six staff members and three female customers were in the small
branch when the man, wearing a blue hooded raincoat, entered the
bank.
The man, who had a surgical mask on and dark sunglasses, used a
wooden plank to block the entrance to the bank.
He went to counter two and grabbed a female customer by the neck,
holding her at knifepoint and demanding cash from the teller.
The man, described as about 1.65 metres tall and between 35 and 40
years old, then let go of the victim and swept up the cash.
He moved on to other tellers and each gave him a few bundles of
cash.
Branch manager Serene Tham said, "Initially of course I was shocked
but now I'm okay. I pressed the panic button once ... We made sure
the customers was not injured."
There was no security officer on the premises at the time.
Police say he fled the scene but left behind the wooden plank,
glove and surgical mask.
The branch does not have 24 hour armed surveillance, though there
are CCTVs.
A POSBank spokesperson said that due to security reasons the bank
cannot reveal the standard security measures it has in place.
But it say that all measures are in place to make sure staff and
customers are taken care of.
There, apparently, is no industry standard or specification on
security for banks.
The staff will be counselled and taken care of; staff from other
branches will take over their duties for the time being.
Just last month a 43-year-old man was critically injured after
being shot twice for trying to rob a Maybank in Upper Bukit Timah
Road with a toy gun.
