Man arrested over ex-wife’s murder

KOTA TINGGI: The former husband of a woman who was found dead in a rubber estate was among three people arrested for her murder.

They were nabbed within 24 hours after the body was discovered on Monday at Jalan Haji Salleh in Kampung Lukut here.

It was reported yesterday that the body of the 37-year-old woman was found facedown with her hands and legs tied up with cables.

Kota Tinggi OCPD Supt Rahmat Othman said the woman’s ex-husband, who is in his 40s, and the other two individuals had been remanded until Dec 20 to assist in investigations.

Her aunt Norlia Ibrahim, 61, said the victim had worked as a hotel housekeeper.

“Although we sometimes had disagreements, she would always be there when her family needed her.

“And she was a loving mother to her children,” Norlia said when met at her house in Taman Desa Sejahtera here yesterday.

She said the victim was last seen on Saturday when she came to Norlia’s house to help her other aunts get ready for a dinner event.

“After that, one of her uncles sent her to town as she wanted to meet her friends before going back to her house nearby.

“She went missing after that and could not be contacted.

“Her 17-year-old daughter, who lives with her, also looked for her at my house when she did not return on Saturday night,” she added.

Norlia said the woman had five children aged between seven and 17 years.

She separated from her husband about three years ago and lived with her eldest daughter in a rented house in Kota Tinggi.

“She told me she was meeting her friends in town that night to look for a house to rent.

“But she did not say who her friends were or where they were going,” Norlia said.

She added that the family only found out about her disappearance on Tuesday night when policemen came to her house and asked them to come to the police station to assist investigations.

Norlia said they learned about her death after her mother went to the hospital to identify the victim’s body on Wednesday.