Secret army documents have been take away from a military camp in Malacca, in a heist staged by a band of monkeys.

According to The Star, the sinister simians had waylaid a postman making his rounds at the Terendak Camp and grabbed three confidential documents and fleeing the scene.

The incident took just seconds and left the 33-year-old postman injured.

A police report has been lodged on the incident that occurred two days ago, and the police now face the difficult task of tracking down the long-tailed macaques.

"There have been previous cases of attacks at the army camp, school and even at the mosque inside the camp," Malacca's National Park and Wildlife Department director Noorzakiahanum Mohd Noh was quoted as saying by the English daily.

In a previous brazen attack, the monkeys had broken into a soldier's car 18 months ago, and stolen all his belongings including cash, ATM cards, driving licences and scuba diving gear.