BUKIT MERTAJAM, Sept 30 — A robber toting a pistol in each hand fired a shot into the air to warn passers-by not to interfere as his three accomplices raced out of a jewellery shop they had just robbed in Taman Chai Leng, Prai yesterday.

A video recording of the heist showed the man wearing a helmet and a mask pacing outside Kam Hoe Jewellery, occasionally lifting his hands to show he was armed and not to be trifled with.

In the 11.30am robbery at Medan Kurau 1, which took all of two minutes, the three men smashed a glass showcase with sledgehammers and scooped RM600,000 worth of jewellery before escaping on two motorcycles.

Lim Kheng Lin, 53, whose husband owns the shop, said they were inside the office separated by a tinted glass panel with a single-sided view when the robbers in dark jackets and wearing masks and helmets walked in.

She said it was fortunate that there were no customers or staff at that time.

“Two of them started smashing the showcases with the sledgehammers before they scooped the jewellery and ran out,” she said.

Lim said this was the first robbery at her shop in its 18 years of existence.

Her daughter, who declined to be identified, said she was fortunate she was just about to enter the shop when the incident occurred.

Dentist Dr Yong Hee Kong, 44, whose clinic is next door, said the armed robber warned him not to do anything after he come outside when he heard the sound of breaking glass.

Another neighbour, who declined to be identified, described the scene as being similar to that in a cowboy movie with a gun-toting robber firing a warning shot to keep people away.

Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy urged the police to step up patrols in the neighbourhood to prevent a recurrence.

He said the central Seberang Prai area was generally safe with a low crime index with the robbery being the exception rather than the rule.

State CID chief SAC II Datuk Zakaria Ahmad said police were trying to establish  the identity of the robbers.

He said they would be studying CCTV footage from several shops to help in investigations.

Zakaria said the case was being investigated under Section 3 of the Firearms Act (Increased Penalty) 1971.