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MALACCA - Police have arrested three civil servants suspected to be involved in blowing up an automated teller machine at the Bank Rakyat branch in Bandar Baru Utama, Masjid Tanah, about 35km from here.

The men, aged between 23 and 24, were detained in Malacca and Kelantan by a special team 48 hours after the incident, said Malacca police chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Chuah Ghee Lye.

He said initial investigations revealed that the civil servants decided to blow up the ATM because they were facing financial problems.

"We are now zooming in on how they obtained the explosives. We are also tracking down another accomplice," he said.

SAC Chuah revealed that the task force managed to trace and apprehend the first suspect in Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, a day after the blast.

The suspect led to the arrest of two more people here the following day. One of those detained here was the mastermind.

The suspects have been remanded for seven days.

In an unrelated case, Bernama reported that an attempt by three masked men to rob an ATM at a bank in Simpang Kuala, Alor Setar, failed after the bank alarm went off.

Kota Setar OCPD Asst Comm Adzaman Mohd Jan said the robbers spent three minutes drilling into the machine but panicked when the alarm went off and they fled in a white Proton Iswara.