A group of men armed with machetes entered a reserved room in a restaurant in Johor Bahru and allegedly slashed victims conducting a sale of Rolex watches. One person in a group of Singaporeans at the scene bravely rushed to help despite the apparent danger.
Facebook user Yijie posted details of the daylight robbery, which happened on June 8, from around 1:20 pm to 1:30 pm at Monet, a restaurant at Mount Austin, Johor Bahru. Yijie said that six men armed with machetes rushed into the restaurant’s private room. He appealed to the public for any leads or recordings of the incident. The concerned individual appears to be an employee of Monet. He added that a reward would be provided.
The Polis Daerah Johor Bahru Selatan also released a media statement on June 9, noting it was tracking down four male suspects to assist with an investigation of an armed robbery with machetes. The incident was reported to have involved injuries.
According to the police, the suspects were tall, thin and wore black masks. Their getaway vehicle was a silver Toyota Estima car.
Three of the victims are aged between 26 and 29. Three of the four items stolen were Rolex watches.
The victims were employees at an online watch shop, V-Time Watch. The owner, named Cai, said his staff were meeting a buyer before the incident.
After negotiations were concluded, the buyer decided to finish the transaction at restaurant Monet.
The staff, consisting of two employees and a male bodyguard, did not suspect anything as the transaction was conducted in broad daylight, and the restaurant had sufficient security.
Not long after the group entered the room, four masked men holding machetes entered from the back door and attacked the employees.
The commotion caused nearby diners and restaurant staff to scatter and leave the premises.
According to Mr Cai, the robber, who posed as a customer and a Datuk (honorific title), paid an RM5,000 (S$1,576) deposit for the watches.
The robber then made the restaurant reservation under the pretence that it was for a friend’s birthday surprise.
Mr Cai was given extra proof in a conversation between the restaurant and the “Datuk” claiming that money was not an issue.
However, he became suspicious when his staff told him that the booked room was empty upon their arrival.
By the time Mr Cai arrived at the scene, the incident had already happened. The robbers also stole a gold ring and another Rolex watch the male employee was wearing.
He revealed that they suffered a total loss of RM500,000 (S$157,643) that day.
Singaporean diner rushed to help
Chinese-language newspaper Shin Min Daily News reported that 56-year-old Singaporean Yang You Ren was among the diners when the incident happened.
Mr Yang and his four friends were at the restaurant to have a meal with four Malaysian friends.
He was returning after a cigarette break when he saw people rushing out of the restaurant.
Mr Yang heard someone say “fire,” so he grabbed a fire extinguisher on his way to the affected room.
He then saw an injured man with a cut so deep that the bone could be seen. Mr Yang assisted the man out of the restaurant and instructed staff to cover the wound with napkins.
The injured man told Mr Yang that his companion was also slashed, so he returned to the room and saw another man whose jacket was soaked in blood.
Mr Yang and his friends eventually left the scene as they had appointments to attend to, but he left his contact number with the restaurant.
Despite being scolded by his friends for being rash, Mr Yang told Shin Min Daily News he couldn’t feign ignorance and just stay outside after knowing something was wrong.
Mr Cai noted in a Facebook post that they were still looking for witnesses and footage of the incident, with corresponding rewards for any leads. /TISG
https://theindependent.sg/i-am-a-okay-now-sharon-au-thanks-network-of-sporeans-for-reaching-out-after-paris-robbery-that-took-everything-from-her/