BANK RAID VICTIM ON KILL FEARS.A NORTHERN Bank employee spoke for the first time last night about the agony agony, n severe pain or extreme suffering. agony 1. death struggle. 2. extreme suffering. he endured having to pretend everything was normal when he knew his family could be murdered at any minute. Chris Ward and Kevin McMullan were forced to load bags of money into a van during the December 20 heist in Belfast, while their families were held hostage. Mr Ward, from the west of the city, told the BBC's Spotlight show: "I just kept telling myself that if I didn't act normally my family and Kevin's family would be killed. "Myself and Kevin had to keep up the pretence - we had no choice." Mr Ward told how a man posing as a Celtic fan tricked his way into his Poleglass home. Other gang members quickly followed him in and started threatening him. The bank supervisor added: "They said, 'Look Chris, we know everything about you and your family. We are going to take you away for 24 hours Adv. 1. for 24 hours - without stopping; "she worked around the clock" around the clock, round the clock and if you co-operate everything will be OK.' 'If you don't, you and your family are dead'." The gang then took Mr Ward to Mr McMullan's home. After questioning about the bank's security codes, the men were left with mobile phones to keep in touch with the robbers. The gang also gave them a final chilling warning of the danger their families were in. The two men then faced an eight-hour wait before they went into work. Mr Ward said: "We sat dumb-founded and just asked ourselves how we had been put into this nightmare." Mr Ward and his family are still coming to terms with the ordeal ordeal, ancient legal custom whereby an accused person was required to perform a test, the outcome of which decided the person's guilt or innocence. By an ordeal, appeal was made to divine authority to decide the guilt or innocence of one accused of a crime or to . He revealed that he still jumps when he hears a knock at the door. The 23-year-old also hit back at suggestions he was involved with the pounds 38million heist. He added: "There is an insinuation INSINUATION, civil law. The transcription of an act on the public registers, like our recording of deeds. It was not necessary in any other alienation, but that appropriated to the purpose of donation. Inst. 2, 7, 2; Poth. Traite des Donations, entre vifs, sect. 2, art. 3, Sec. that because I am a West Belfast Catholic that I must have been part of the robbery. "Would anyone put their loved ones through such an ordeal? "I know I certainly wouldn't and neither would Kevin McMullan." Meanwhile Northern Bank officials yesterday rejected claims that the robbers took more than pounds 38million during the raid. A bank spokesman said: "We had a full forensic Belonging to courts of justice. forensic 1) adj. from Latin forensis for "belonging to the forum," ancient Rome's site for public debate, and currently meaning pertaining to the courts. audit of the cash centre and it was independently audited by an outside body." CAPTION(S): INTERVIEW: 338m heist hostage Chris Ward |
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