Kuala Lumpur  - Malaysian police shot dead two Indonesian men Friday, hours after they were believed to have caused the death of a 70-year-old man while they ransacked his home, a news report said.

The two suspects allegedly tied up and gagged their victim and his 69-year-old wife late Thursday and spent some five hours looting the house in an upmarket residential area in Selangor state, the official Bernama news agency said.

The victim's wife managed to free herself after the robbers left, but her husband, who had a heart ailment, was found to have died before help arrived.

"When the police arrived at (the victim's) house, he was already dead. As he was gagged by the robbers, he could have suffocated as a result," said state police chief Khalid Abu Bakar.

The men had allegedly made off with cash and jewellery worth some 500,000 ringgit (151,515 dollars).

Khalid said police found and cornered the two Indonesian men, aged in their 30s, two hours later. The duo allegedly attempted to attack police officers with machetes, forcing officers to fire four shots, killing them on the spot.

Police said the two men were part of a notorious robbery gang targeting the homes of wealthy people in the area.

News reports said the victim's body has been sent to a hospital for a post mortem. (dpa)