Wichit Police received a call from a security guard stationed at the Index Living mall who stated that two ATM machines located outside of the mall had been broken into.
Upon arrival at the scene police found an SCB and Kasikorn Bank ATM had both been broken into but no money had been taken.
Security officers from both banks joined police to check the ATM’s operating system and the money held within. They found that the machines were still in working order and that all money was still inside.
It appeared that the amateur thieves, although getting inside the ATMs, couldn't shut the systems and get to the money boxes inside.
When asked by police, the security guard stated that at around 2-3am he heard a noise that appeared to be that of something breaking, but when he came out to see there was no one around. However, he found that the two ATMs had been broken into so he called the police.
The police suspect that there were more than two people involved in the attempted theft and that they had first used a screw driver to break into the front of the machines expecting the money to be there.
They soon found that the money was in fact at the back of the machines so they changed their plan and broke the locks at the back.
Although managing to get into the back of the machine they couldn't stop the security system so they cut some wires at the back of the SCB ATM and tried to open the money box but failed.
Having broken the machines security system the machine stopped working and a warning signal was sent to the headquarters of the security company the bank hires telling them the machine had been broken into.
Pol Col Kitipong Klaikaew, superintendent of Wichit Police Station Police believes that the thieves were amateurs and didn’t have the skills to shut the ATM’s security system so ran away in order to avoid arrest.
Police have collected fingerprints from the scene and hope they will be able to identify the thieves from them. They have also asked security guards to check all CCTV images from the area and the ATMs to help them with their investigation.