Five men believed to be foreign nationals robbed a hypermarket in Aulong, Perak of RM200,000 early today, police said.

Taiping district police acting chief Razlam Ab Hamid said that at 1.05am, the five men held up two security guards at a security point.

"The robbers, wearing hoods and armed with machetes, knuckle-dusters and steel rods, covered the guard’s heads, tied them up and herded them to the loading area.

“Five minutes later, they held up two more guards and placed them in the same area,” he said, adding that the guards only freed themselves at 4.30am.

Razlam said in a statement that the guards found the metal gate of the hypermarket used by the staff had been cut open and the robbers had escaped with the loot.

- Bernama