An ATM containing about NT$4 million (US$199,399) was taken before dawn yesterday from a King’s Town Bank (京城銀行) branch in Tainan’s Rende District (仁德).
The theft occurred at 3:57am at the bank on Chungshan Road, police said, adding that they had been called by security guards who had been alerted by an alarm and arrived at the bank to find the ATM missing.
A preliminary police investigation found the machine had not been attached to the building, but was a standalone placement, so the thieves were able to simply cut the wiring and remove it.
Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Taipei Times, from a police photo
It only took about seven minutes for the thieves to remove the machine, police said.
They said they believed at least two people were involved in the theft, given that the ATM weighed more than 100kg.
Surveillance footage showed one person, wearing a baseball cap and face mask, using a stick to change the angle of a security camera at the door before entering the ATM area and spraying black paint on the lens of the security camera above the machine, police said.
An ad hoc task force has been set up to investigate the case and is tracking a vehicle believed to have been used in the theft, they said.
Locals questioned the bank’s security and expressed surprise at the apparent ease of the robbery.
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