A roadside durian stall became the target of a bizarre theft after a man allegedly broke into the premises and fled with cash stuffed in his mouth while workers were asleep nearby.
The incident reportedly took place at around 5.30am on Tuesday at a durian stall located in front of Lotus’s Alma.
According to the stall owner, 28-year-old Wong Ting Yew, the suspect sneaked into the tented stall after cutting through ropes securing the canvas structure using a fruit knife.
Closed-circuit camera footage later shared on social media by the owner, who operates under the name “Durian Prince”, showed the suspect rummaging through bags placed on a table before opening the cash register and grabbing a stack of banknotes.
Part of the stolen cash could also be seen clenched in the suspect’s mouth as he hurriedly fled the scene.
Wong said the thief made off with around RM3,000 in cash and two mobile phones while employees were asleep inside the stall.
“The workers were sleeping near the table. The air cooler was switched on, so they did not hear anything unusual when the thief entered,” he said.
He explained that the stolen money was intended for staff salary payments, adding that the business usually transfers its daily earnings elsewhere for safekeeping and only keeps around RM300 in cash at the stall for daily operations.
Wong admitted there had been a lapse in security as phones and cash were left exposed on the table, but said stricter measures would now be implemented, including assigning staff to monitor the premises.
Despite the losses, he said no police report has been lodged so far as the amount stolen was not considered too large.
He added that several premium durians, including Black Thorn and Musang King, were left untouched during the break-in.
Wong also revealed that another stall under the same brand near a food centre in Bukit Mertajam was targeted by thieves in July last year.
