Police shot dead five armed robbers after a heist at a jewellers in a popular shopping complex near Kuala Lumpur today, a senior police official said.

The robbers - armed with pistols and a hand grenade - fired a warning shot as they entered the shop and attacked a security guard before grabbing four display cases, said Kuala Lumpur police chief Mustafa Abdullah.

Policemen on a regular crime prevention patrol heared the gunshot and confronted the men as they tried to flee in a car from the shopping complex in Sri Petaling, he said.

'Police return fire'

One of the robbers fired a shot, hitting a policeman in the chin.

"This forced the police to return fire," Mustafa said.

The wounded policeman was reported to be in a stable condition in hospital.

Earlier this month a police officer died after he was shot by a robber in southern Johor state and police crime chief Musa Hassan vowed to crackdown on violent crime.