BUTTERWORTH: A crane owner has placed an advertisement in two newspapers offering a reward of RM100,000 for information leading to the recovery of a 60-tonne crane worth RM1.2mil which was reportedly stolen by eight men in Bertam near Kepala Batas.

In the Thursday incident, the robbers blindfolded and tied up four workers of a crane renting company and escaped with the crane. The robbers however left behind a 45-tonne crane after it was trapped in mud at a remote area in Bertam.

It is learnt that the company based in Mak Mandin had received a call at about 3pm on Wendesday from someone who wanted to hire the two cranes for use in Bertam.

On Thursday, four workers took the two cranes to the said site where a man in his 30s was waiting at about 9.30am. The man then told the workers to drive the cranes into an oil palm estate.

The man then drove off in a four-wheel drive vehicle. About 10 minutes later, eight men armed with machetes (parang) arrived in another four-wheel drive vehicle and confronted the workers.

The workers managed to free themselves at about 1pm and called their employer before lodging a police report.

North Seberang Prai OCPD Asst Comm Zulkifli Alias confirmed the incident.