MALACCA, MALAYSIA - Four robbers made off with gold and gemstones worth RM200,000 in less than a minute at a goldsmith shop in Jalan Kee Ann here yesterday.

Malacca CID chief Asst Comm Zainal Abidin Kassim said the robbery happened at about 10.10am when two men , believed to be locals, aged between 20 and 30, entered Kedai Emas Seng On Loong.

There were only two shop workers who were attending to several customers when the robbers entered.

'The duo, one armed with a long parang and the other a hammer, threatened the workers and customers and ordered them to be silent.

'They broke the glass panels and the display grill before grabbing three trays of jewellery. The entire robbery was over in less than a minute,' he told reporters at the crime scene yesterday.

He said the robbers, who wore helmets with dark visors, made their getaway with two other accomplices who were on motorcycles outside.

He added that police are viewing the shop's CCTV recording to determine the identity of the robbers.

It was learnt that the goldsmith shop owners Lee Yuk Seng, 58, and Siew Poh Heng, 50, were not in when the robbery happened. The shop had been operating for the past 17 years without security guards.

ACP Zainal Abidin urged hardware shop owners to come forward with information because the hammer used for the robbery was newly bought.