ALOR GAJAH, MALAYSIA: A smartly-dressed man, in his 40s, thought that he could steal from a jewellery shop by pretending to be a wealthy man.

But his attempt failed when several onlookers came to the aid of the owner, who screamed for help, and caught the man as he tried to escape in a waiting car.

The incident happened at 4.20pm yesterday when the man, wearing a long-sleeved batik shirt, entered the jewellery shop in Pekan Pulau Sebang here.

The shop owner, identified as Chong, 34, was at the time attending to several other customers.

Chong said the suspect behaved like a wealthy man and asked for several items to be taken from the showcase for him to view.

"As soon as we took out the items, he grabbed as many as he could and dashed out towards a waiting car.

"I screamed for help and several onlookers, including a male customer from the shop, ran after the man and managed to catch him as he was trying to get into the car."

Chong said the man's accomplice, however, managed to drive away, while the suspect was taken to the Tampin police station.

The stolen items were recovered from the man.

Tampin deputy district police chief, DSP Mohd Isa Ujang confirmed the incident.