Robber at large after $2,000 heist at Western Union branch in Ubi
Western Union branch in Ubi robbed at knifepoint, making it the second armed robbery here in two days
A knife-wielding man robbed a Western Union money transfer branch in Ubi yesterday.
It was the second armed robbery here in two days.
Police, who were alerted at 10.50am, said that the suspect made off with over $2,000 in cash after threatening a female employee of the branch at Block 301 Ubi Avenue 1.
The suspect was still at large at press time.
At the time of the incident, he was wearing a white motorcycle helmet, a black jacket and dark-coloured long pants.
Police said that he fled on foot from the crime scene.
A man who identified himself as the landlord of the Western Union branch and only wanted to be known as Mr Liu, said he had heard the female employee shouting and had rushed to help.
By the time he reached the shop, Mr Liu said that the robber had fled.
"She was shouting something like 'Help me' ... definitely she was scared," said Mr Liu, who lives directly above the branch on the second storey of the four-storey block.
When The New Paper arrived at the scene at noon yesterday, there were about 20 officers conducting investigations in the area.The police first posted on Facebook that it was responding to the incident at 11.19am and confirmed around 35 minutes later that an armed robbery had taken place.
Police cordons had been set up around the branch and the female employee involved was inside.
At around 2.55pm, she was escorted to a police car and was driven away.
Mr Liu, who also owns a flower shop next to the Western Union branch, said this is the first time such an incident has happened since he had set up shop in 1988.
An employee of Tai Chong Kok bakery nearby, who declined to be named, said that the area is not usually busy, especially in the morning.
"I had only just opened the shop but I didn't see or hear anything. This place is usually quiet so the fact that it happened here is quite scary," she said, adding that most patrons of the Western Union branch are foreign workers.
The first armed robbery case happened at a Shell petrol station in Bukit Timah on Monday.
A 48-year-old man was arrested for robbing the petrol station at knifepoint, in what the police said was the first such case in 10 years.
Police investigations are ongoing.
Anyone with information can call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.
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