Explosion rips open entrance of goldsmith shop in Kota Kinabalu

KOTA KINABALU: A powerful explosion ripped open a grilled entrance of a goldsmith shop at the Segama Commercial Centre in the heart of town at about 2.45am Monday (Dec 31).

Police suspect that it was an attempted robbery but were still investigating other motives of the explosion that shook the shopping area.

“We do not think anything was taken from the goldsmith shop. We are still investigating,” Kota Kinabalu OCPD Asst Comm Habibi Majinji told reporters at the scene of the incident.

A police bomb squad and canine unit was combing the area.

Habibi said that they had yet to identify the type of explosive used in the incident that ripped open the grilled entrance into the goldsmith shop.

“It seems to be a strong explosive. There was only single explosion and ripped through the entrance,” he said.

He said the owner was overseas and they were waiting for his son to help provide more details.

“We believe it is a robbery attempt but we will look into other motives,” he added.