Bank customers looked in disbelief as a knife wielding robber took a woman cashier hostage in a daring robbery in Jalan Bank in Kuantan today.

However, the robber who released the cashier when leaving the bank was later arrested by policemen on patrol duty in the area, Kuantan police chief ACP Mohd Jasmani Yusoff said.

He said the drama unfolded at 9.15am when the robber armed with a knife jumped over the counter and grabbed the cashier.

"The robber, a man in his 30s threatened to harm the cashier before scooping about RM16,000.

"He was not wearing a mask and had also counted the money before putting it into a bag," he told reporters in Kuantan today.

Jasmani said the drama ended ten minutes later when policemen in two patrol cars saw the robber walking with the bag and arrested him.

The unemployed robber who tested negative for drugs was detained under Section 392 and 397 of the Penal Code.

He said the woman cashier was still traumatised by the robbery and declined to be interviewed.

- Bernama