SUBANG JAYA, MALAYSIA: Tired of being targeted more than 10 times in the past 16 years by robbers, the wife of a goldsmith yesterday decided to literally take matters into her own hands.

As the two robbers who had entered her shop hammered away at the jewellery display cabinets with an axe and a sledgehammer, the 44-year-old woman hit the button of the automatic shutter door.

The robbers panicked and rushed out of the shop. The men clad in full-faced helmets, jackets and gloves, fled empty-handed on two motorcycles ridden by accomplices.

The incident happened at 4.15pm at the goldsmith outlet in Taman Paik Siong, near Taman Kinrara, Puchong.

District police chief ACP Zainal Rashid Abu Bakar said three employees were in the shop during the robbery that lasted only two minutes.

"The two men hit the glass surface of the display case about 20 times with their weapons but could not get to the jewellery when the woman acted on time," he said.

No one was hurt.

Police have obtained a closed-circuit television camera recording from the premises and a check on the registration numbers on the two motorcycles revealed that both were false.

The woman, who only wanted to be known as Jessy, said since the shop was opened in 1992, robbers had struck more than 10 times -- but only succeeded twice.

The latest incident was in July last year when two robbers were nabbed by passersby who later handed them over to the police.