Lm12,000 stolen in armed raid on bank

Robbers raided the HSBC branch in St Andrew's yesterday and made off with about Lm12,000 after neutralising the policeman on duty, PC Raymond Saliba, by tying his hands and ordering him to lie on the floor, sources said.

HSBC said later three people - a customer, a security guard and a staff member - were slightly injured in the raid. It gave no details.

The hold-up occurred just before 10.30 a.m. when three, possibly four, robbers carrying firearms barged into the bank. They went straight for the policeman on guard duties there and then to the cashiers ordering them to hand over the money.

The sources said the robbers, who it is suspected were foreigners or at least included foreigners, arrived at the bank barefaced but donned hoods as soon as they stepped inside.

The sources said investigators were informed that one of the robbers was heard speaking Italian.

A number of clients inside the bank at the time were ordered to keep their hands above their heads.

According to the sources the hold-up lasted a few minutes and the robbers soon ran outside and fled the scene in a waiting black Fiat Uno, probably driven by an accomplice.

The getaway car was still untraced by the late afternoon and the police mobile squad, armed with a description of the vehicle, was on the lookout.

It is not clear whether the robbers made their approach or their getaway from the front or by walking along a path from the back of the block housing the HSBC bank branch.

At one time senior police officers were observed investigating what looked like a footprint on soil at the back of the bank. Later on, members of the police forensic laboratory made a plaster cast of the print for further investigation.

It could not be established either whether the robbers' entrance or departure or indeed the hold-up itself was captured on the bank's security cameras. Two closed-circuit TV cameras are located on the bank's façade.

A middle-aged client who was approached by members of the media as she left the bank after being interviewed by the police said everything happened so quickly she could hardly recall details.

She was still under shock as she explained that she herself had been the victim of a thief who robbed her of a sum of money when she used to run a shop not far from the HSBC bank.

She said that when the robbers entered the bank she was near the reception desk and was ordered to go near the other clients in a queue.

The woman said that at the time she had her hands in her pockets and she was told to hold them over her head.

Magistrate Antonio Mizzi, who is holding an inquiry, appointed a team of court experts to draw up reports on the case.

Assistant Police Commissioner Emanuel Cassar and other senior police officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and the St Julians district were on the scene of the crime to conduct preliminary investigations.

Also on the spot were members of the Malta Union of Bank Employees headed by president William Portelli.

Nine years ago, in March 1996, the bank, then a Mid-Med Bank branch, had been the target of another hold-up which however had been foiled when one of the robbers was injured in a shoot-out with police officers from the mobile squad who happened to be checking their tyres at a nearby service station.

In that hold-up a policeman was injured when he was hit by the butt of a revolver.

All the three robbers had then been traced, charged and sentenced.

HSBC said counsellors, appointed by the bank to intervene in such circumstances as a robbery, together with a number of medical doctors were called on site immediately to offer the necessary assistance to all those involved.

The bank thanked the police for their prompt response.