27 May 2008

Man shot in robbery outside Tongan bank

5:53 pm on 27 May 2008

A man has been shot in the thigh during an armed robbery outside a sub-branch of the Westpac Bank in Tonga.

The police have been unavailable for comment, but a reporter for the Talaki newspaper says police confirm to the paper that the robbers made off with more than 1,600 US dollars yesterday afternoon.

Dave Motulalo from the Talaki newspaper says a robber had pounced on a female worker as she went to deposit her company's earnings for the day.

He says her driver tried to help her but was attacked by a second robber.

"The second person was carrying a 12 gauge pump action shot gun, and he was shot in the thighs. Anyway they took off with the money and they called for help but they already got away with it. The police is still on their trail."

Dave Motulalo says police believe at least three people were involved in the robbery, with another driving a get-away pick-up truck.

He believes the man who was shot has recovered well.