ATM thieves kill security guard | Bangkok Post: breakingnews

ATM thieves kill security guard

A security guard at a Chumphon hypermarket was killed during a failed attempt by robbers to steal a Government Savings Bank ATM machine early Sunday morning.

The incident occurred at the Tesco Lotus hypermarket in Tha Sae district where the police found the pink ATM machine near the gate on Phetkasem Road. The machine's broken outer frame was found close to the entrance of the store.

A body was found in the motorcycle parking space. It was identified as Piriya Chaopreaknoi, 44, a security guard at the hypermarket.

Pol Lt Gen Warit Siwaiphram of Tha Sae district police station was quoted in Thai Rath newspaper as saying that an alarm connected to the ATM triggered an alert at the police station after 2.30am.

Police suspect that at least two robbers tried to steal the ATM machine after killing the security guard with a hard object.

A review of closed circuit TV at the gate shows a silver Isuzu pickup truck was driven into the hypermarket at 2.35am but the police could not see the licence plate.

Evidence suggests the thieves tied a fire hose around the ATM machine and pulled it loose with the pickup, but they could not load it onto the truck. They apparently dragged it for a distance until the fire hose broke. The robbers fled.