Armed robbers blame it on being jobless
SEREMBAN: Three Indonesians told a state executive council member at his house in Taman Guru, Senawang, that they were "forced" to rob him because they had been unemployed for a year. The victim, who did not want to be identified, said the men, armed with knives, had sawn through the grille and forced open the front door to his home at 3.30am yesterday.
The man, his wife and youngest child, 5, had been asleep in the master bedroom at the time and were awakened by the men.
Another of the couple's children, a teenager, was asleep in another room, as was the family's maid. They were both left alone by the robbers.
"They wanted to tie us up. But after I pleaded with them to take whatever they wanted but not to harm my family, they left us free. "They then asked me to hand over all the money in the house and other valuables," the victim said, adding that he had a pistol but did not reach for it as he feared his wife and child would be harmed.
He said the robbers explained to him that they had lost their jobs at a construction company last year and turned to a life of crime out of desperation.
The trio left several minutes before police arrived.
State Criminal Investigation Department chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Zaki Masrof said initial investigations revealed that the three had an accomplice waiting outside.
"They had covered their faces with their shirts."