Acting Tawau police chief Nor Azizulkifli Mansor said the 27-year old was arrested at 8.20am following a tip-off that a man was acting suspiciously at the bank’s lobby.
He said CCTV recordings show that the suspect used a piece of wood to block off the entrance to the lobby for the ATM machines.
“The suspect then attempted to remove the covers of the ATM machine with a paper clip he found in a dustbin, but he could not do so.
“So he forced open the cover, but could not open the inner door of the safe that kept the cash in the machine,” Nor Azizulkifli was quoted by the news agency as saying.
He added that the bank’s alarm system did not go off. There was also no security guard on duty at the time of the incident.
Nor Azizulkifli said initial investigations revealed that the suspect had no prior records, but tested positive for drugs. “According to several witnesses, the suspect had been loitering around banks for the past few months.”