But robbers in the eastern Malaysian state of Sarawak have discovered a new source of "gold" - the cash deposit machines (CDMs) that many banks have installed in their branches.

Since January, two banks in the state had lost a CDM each, Bernama news agency reported.

The latest case happened at the Boulevard Commercial Complex here yesterday. A group of masked men used a rope attached to a vehicle to yank the CDM off its floor mountings and towed away the machine with 180,000 Malaysian ringgit (Bt1.98 million) in it.

The robbers obviously were experts as the bank's closed circuit TV showed the whole operation lasted only three minutes, Bernama said. - The Star/Asia News Network