Robber mistakes bank alarm for light switch, flees

CABADBARAN, Agusan del Norte — A robber managed to get inside a bank in this town past midnight Wednesday, but mistook the bank alarm for a light switch, effectively aborting the heist.

In a scene straight out of a cops-and-robbers comedy, Cabadbaran police said they received an alarm from the First Consolidated Bank (FCB-Cabadbaran) branch located along the national highway at about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The bank alarm was connected to an alarm at the police station located a kilometer away.

But when policemen arrived at the crime scene moments later, the robber had already fled. Instead, the bank manager and some companions were inside inspecting why the alarm bell had sounded.

Upon investigation, police determined that the bank’s air conditioning unit had been removed, apparently allowing the fledgling robber to enter and flee the scene.

It was not known whether the robber was able to make off with any money bundles from the bank’s drawers as FCB officials would not say how much money, if any, was stolen.

Police probers found the bank’s vaults to be intact.

Caraga police regional director Chief Superintendent Geary Lingan Barias ordered a thorough investigation of the incident and issued a warning to all banks in the region to fortify their building premises — especially their air conditioner units — because most thieves would probably have the foresight to bring along a flashlight.