BUKIT MERTAJAM, Oct 1 — Cynthia Ng, 24, wants nothing more than for her parents to end their business at Taman Chai Leng in Prai.

It was the third time her family had been robbed.  

“I don’t want my parents to do this business, but my mother insists there is risk in every business,” she said amid tears.

The first robbery at Kam Hoe Jewellery was 12 years ago when robbers got away with RM20,000 in jewellery. 

About six years ago, while her parents Ng Weng Keng and Lim Kheng Lin, both 53, were visiting her in college in Kuala Lumpur, robbers broke into their house in Butterworth and carted away RM400,000 worth of jewellery for the business and the weddings of Ng and her siblings.

Ng said it was supposed to be a happy day for the family because one of her two sisters was turning 20 but it became a nightmare.

She said she had parked her car and was walking towards the shop when a man wearing a full-faced helmet pointed a gun at her and ordered her not to walk any further. 

“I was frightened not only for myself but also my parents in the shop,” she said. 

Her mother said she was walking to the counter from the washroom when the robbers entered the shop at about 11.30am when there were no customers. 

“My husband was in the office and I saw them through the heavily-tinted window. They used sledgehammers to break the thick glass showcases. 

“They emptied the jewellery into their bags and calmly walked out. It all happened in two minutes,” she said.

Asked if she would continue with the business, Lim was undeterred. 

“This is the only business I know. I started it when my children were still young and it has provided for them and their future,” she said. 

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy visited the shop along with other state exco members.