Beheaded toddler's case drug-related?

Police are not ruling out the possibility that the murder of toddler Siti Soffea Emelda Abdullah, could be drug-related.

KL CID chief, SAC Gan Kong Ming confirmed that the murder suspect, reportedly a local Indian-ethnic in his late 30s, was a drug addict.

“While inspecting the clothes on the body of the man that was found floating in the Klang River near the Sunway toll plaza, police found a small packet containing some dried leaves, believed to be marijuana,” he said in a statement today.

When asked later if there is a possibility that the murder could have been related to a drug deal gone wrong in prison, or if the suspect was high on other drugs besides marijuana at the time of incident, Gan only said the police are investigating all angles.

What is known is that the suspect’s physique was in consistent with the description given by eye witnesses who claimed to have seen the suspect carry the child and hurting her by the Klang River banks underneath the bridge near the old Klang Bus Stand. It was also consistent with police’s check with the CCTV footage from the fourth floor of Plaza Kota Raya, where Siti Soffea Emelda was said to have been abducted.

The man’s physique, face and clothing were consistent with the body that authorities fished out from Klang River near the Sunway toll plaza on Saturday afternoon.

As of today, police have recorded 10 statements from witnesses, including the toddler’s mother, Siti Salmy Suib.

Post-mortem on the suspect’s body was concluded at 1.45pm today at the University Malaya Medical Centre with drowning as the cause of death. There were no other injuries on the body.

As for Siti Soffea Emelda, her post-mortem was concluded on May 30 at 11am. The child’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, consistent with eye witnesses’ account that the child was struck by the suspect with an object. It was reported that pieces of ceramic with blood stains on them were found at the crime scene.

Police have so far recorded 10 statements including the mother’s.

The suspect’s personal details have yet to be ascertained as the police are still waiting for fingerprints results from the National Registration Department and the Criminal Registration Centre.