Cops arrest addict who tried to break into ATM in Jertih

JERTIH: An addict driven by desperation to buy drugs for his 'fix' was arrested by police for trying to break into an automated teller machine (ATM) here.

Besut district police chief Supt Abdul Rozak Muhammad said bank staff members became aware of the incident at 6.30pm on Tuesday (May 16), when they received a call from the bank's management service informing them that one of its cash deposit and withdrawal machines had been tampered with.

"The staff made a further inspection and found signs that the front door of the machine was almost broken but the suspect had failed to steal the cash inside.

"A review of closed circuit camera (CCTV) footage showed that an alarm went off at 6pm and a man was seen prying open the door of the machine," he said.

He said police later managed to track down and arrest the 42-year-old suspect at a house in Kampung Bukit Rambutan here this morning.

According to Abdul Rozak, the suspect had gone to the bank regularly to check the balance in his bank account.

"The suspect said he went several times to check if the government's special assistance had been deposited into his account.

"However, after finding that the account was still empty, the suspect wanted money as he had been cut off from his fix for a few days," he said.

He said the suspect had a record of two drug and one criminal offences, adding that the case was being investigated under Section 427 of the Penal Code. – Bernama