Police hunting seven teenage suspects in robbery-murder case

Police are on the hunt for seven suspects involved in the death of a teenager killed in an attempted robbery in Setapak on Thursday night.

Khairul Idzham, 19, drowned when he fell into a lake near Taman Tasik Ong Tai Kim after he was hit on the head by a blunt object.

According to initial reports, the victim and his friends were hanging out at the lake when they were approached by a group of teenage boys on motorcycles who demanded the group hand over their mobile phones.

Khairul refused to comply and was hit on the head before being pushed into the lake.

“The post-mortem results showed that the victim drowned. He was hit at the back of the head with a blunt object and is believed to have passed out in the lake. He was known to be able to swim and scuba dive,” said Wangsa Maju acting police chief ACP Asmadi Abdul Aziz.

“Based on our investigations, the victim and his friends knew the suspects. They got into an altercation but we have yet to confirm if it was a targeted robbery attempt,” he added.

According to earlier reports, the group of motorcyclists reportedly had first wanted to rob two African men nearby before turning their target to the victim and friends.

Police have arrested seven teenagers, aged between 13 and 16, believed to be suspects in the murder case and are still looking for seven others.

“We have identified all of the suspects. Their family members are cooperating with the police in the investigation and we expect to make arrest soon,” said Asmadi.