Suspects are ‘clean’

KULAI: The four suspects in the kidnap and murder of 16-year-old Lai Ying Xin were not on drugs nor did they have criminal records, said Johor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff.

“They are young boys and the youngest is only 16,” he said when visiting Ying Xin’s house in Taman Gunung Pulai yesterday.

“The special task force is working round the clock to complete the probe as soon as possible,” he said.

Personal briefing: DCP Mohd Mokhtar updating Chia Siew Phen,45, and Lai Then Song,48,about their daughter Ying Xin's below)case at their house in Taman Gunung Rapat Pulai Thursday.

He added that police were still waiting for the DNA report and test results before they could release Ying Xin’s body to the family.

DCP Mohd Mokhtar said that the investigations papers would be submitted to the deputy public prosecutor’s office as soon as possible and police would recommend that the suspects be charged immediately.

He said the motive of the kidnap and murder was still under investigation, but added that the cause of death was manual strangulation.

Ying Xin’s partially burnt body was found in some bushes in Taman Putri, Kulai, on Sept 16 after the SMK Sultan Ibrahim student failed to return home from her part-time work on Sept 11.

It was learnt that a ransom of RM60,000 was demanded, but police believed that the victim was murdered before the kidnappers contacted the family.

Police arrested the four suspects, aged between 16 and 22, early Tuesday morning and discovered Ying Xin’s body after questioning them.