MANDALAY – Police in Mandalay are searching for two men who robbed a gold shop in Chanmya Tharsi Township on Monday.
A man wielding a knife made off with gold bangles worth more than 6 million kyats from the Shwesin Myintmo Gold Shop with the help of a partner driving a motorcycle.
“A man came in and said he wanted to buy a gold bangle for his wife. I asked him whether his wife was large or small, and how much she wanted to spend. He didn’t reply,” said shop owner Ma Marlar.
“After he didn’t reply, I started talking to another customer. [The first man] suddenly took out a knife and pointed it at me. He smashed the display case, grabbed a handful of gold bangles and ran out,” she said.
The shop owner said that her mother and brother and started yelling out that the shop had been robbed. Some passersby tried to stop the thieves, but they were able to escape on the motorcycle.
“That man who robbed me was waving his knife around so that no one could approach them. Some men tried to follow them but they drove so fast that no one could catch them,” Ma Marlar said.
According to Chanmya Tharsi Township police, the gold shop’s CCTV system was not working at the time due to a power outage. However, local and divisional police are coordinating their efforts to arrest the culprits.
“Although we do not know the faces of the robbers, the victim and other witnesses said that the man wielding the knife is thin and one of his legs is a bit weak,” a duty officer at Chanmya Tharsi Township police station said.
According to police, the men stole gold bangles weighing about 116.242 grams. The case was registered as a robbery at Regional Police Station No. 10.
“We are combing all of Mandalay with cooperation from divisional police to find the culprits,” said the duty officer.