Gunman kills four in cold blood at chicken plant

BALIK PULAU: It started as a family squabble with a drug addict asking for money to get his fix. Then, it turned into a tragedy when the 32-year-old factory hand whipped out a gun and shot dead three family members and another man at a container home in Batu Maung.

At least 11 shots were fired inside the double-storey container home, located within a chicken processing factory.

Police identified the dead woman as Tan Saw Sim, 55, her son Chung Wah Thong, 28, and her two-year-old grandson Ayden Chung, fondly called as Ah Bee.

Tan was a poultry seller at the Bayan Baru market. Chung was a race jockey.

Also killed in the shooting at 2.45am yesterday was Tan’s boyfriend Toh Hock Choon, 50, who is also the factory operator.

Chung was shot in the chest, while the rest were hit in the head.

It is learnt that both Tan and Toh had been staying together for several years. Toh was said to be renting the place for more than 10 years.

A closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage showed a commotion between the suspect, Tan and Toh, at one of the rooms on the ground floor of the container.

The footage shows the man, a close family member, who was apparently high on drugs, whipping out a 9mm semi-automatic pistol. He then fired at them in the midst of the quarrel.

Chung and Ah Bee, who were sleeping in another room on the upper floor, came down to check the commotion but the man shot them too.

The man fled the scene in Toh’s Toyota Hilux. The pick-up truck was found abandoned in front of a shophouse in Jalan Muhibah, Bukit Mertajam, some 70km from the factory in Batu Maung.

An eyewitness, who wanted to be known only as Tan, said he saw the suspect park the car and walk away. Police were informed about the vehicle at about 5am.

Penang CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Razarudin Husain said initial investigations showed that the man could have gone into a rage after failing to get money to buy drugs.

Hunt begins: The police forensic team looking for clues at the scene of the crime in Batu Maung.

“He is a drug addict. We also recovered several bullet shells at the scene, and are now checking the source of the weapon, which was obtained illegally.

“We are now looking for Chung Chun Wah to help shed light on the matter. The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder,” he said at the scene yesterday.

SAC Razarudin also said the suspect had previous records for attempted murder and drug-related offences.