Police have arrested two Filipino men on Thursday for their
involvement in two cases of armed robbery at
separate Burger King outlets.
In the most recent case, the assailants carried out their modus
operandi at a International Plaza branch on Wednesday morning.
One of the suspects, a 32-year-old, allegedly walked into the
fast-food outlet and held a female staff, 61, in a headlock while
placing a knife under her throat.
The man, whose face was covered with a surgical
mask, then demanded that a male staff hand over all the
money that was in the safe. The other man, a 30-year-old believed
to be his accomplice, waited outside the building.
The robbery attempt was thwarted after a third crew member ran
out of the outlet and sought help. It was said that the startled
robber threw his knife to the ground and fled empty-handed. The
staff gave chase but eventually lost sight of him.
The Straits Times reported that the suspect left a
trail of clues behind, including a bicycle
chain, which he intended to use to lock the doors of the
outlet — and two rolls of duct tape.
Police said they had received a call at about 7.30am informing
them of the incident. Through follow-up investigations, they
managed to establish the identity of the suspect by inspecting
closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.
He was arrested at Changi Airport later that night as he
attempted to flee the country.
Meanwhile on Thursday morning, the police managed to apprehend
his accomplice who was in the vicinity of Marina
Bay.
The 32-year-old suspect will be charged in court for 'attempt to
commit armed robbery' and if convicted, faces
imprisonment of up to seven years and not less than 18 strokes of
the cane. Police said that investigations against the 30-year-old
suspect are ongoing.
However, the police believe that the older suspect might also be
involved in another armed-robbery attempt which occurred on 16
April this year.
The man had entered a Burger King outlet located at the
underground shopping mall Esplanade X-change
around 1am on the pretext of conducting maintenance work.
Soon after, he confronted a female staff — who was alone at that
time — and held a knife to her throat while demanding that she open
the safe.
After emptying the safe of S$7,000, he gagged her and bound her
wrists and ankles with duct tape. The staff eventually managed to
free herself and call for help.
The police are still investigating whether there were others
involved in the attempt.
-- Yahoo!
