Three men arrested over alleged involvment in murder

Melaka police chief Datuk Abdul Majid Mohd Ali said the first suspect, 39, was arrested at 10 pm the same day the body was found following a police report lodged by the victim’s wife after he failed to come home.

He said the arrest of the man led to the the arrests of two other male suspects, 34 and 42, in Ipoh, Perak around 9 pm last Monday (Jan 11) in a special operation.

"Investigations revealed that the victim was believed to have been murdered within a 48-hour period in a rented house of one of the suspects based on blood stains found at the premises, before the body was dumped in the back seat of a Proton Perdana owned by the victim.

He said the police believe that the motive for the murder was dissatisfaction among them after robbing a convenience store in Kota Laksamana, Melaka on Jan 4, adding that the autopsy revealed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head in addition to stab wounds on the abdomen and neck areas.

He added that the victim and the three suspects were criminal associates who were believed to be active in the last two months robbing 24-hour convenience stores. All the arrested suspects possessed previous criminal records relating to drug offences and they tested positive for methamphetamine, he said.

“The suspects have been remanded for seven days from Tuesday (Jan 12) till Jan 18 to facilitate investigations under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder,” he said, adding that the Melaka police managed to solve the murder within 24 hours, with the arrest of the first suspect.