New twist to murder-arson case

KUALA SELANGOR: A fire that turned out to be something more sinister took yet another twist when a deaf-mute man was arrested for the murder of an elderly couple and their two grandchildren at Tanjung Sepat recently.

The man is a boyfriend of the couple’s daughter and the murder is now linked to a financial dispute and a debt.

The 38-year-old suspect, who works at a furniture factory, was arrested by the Selangor Police Serious Crimes Unit (D9) yesterday.

Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Mazlan Mansor said police raided a shoplot along Jalan 10/40, Taman Pusat Kepong in Kuala Lumpur at about 1am.

“We acted based on intelligence received that the suspect had sought medical treatment at a private clinic in the Klang Valley.

“Our investigations led us to believe that he acted alone.

“He is believed to have been involved in a heated argument with the elderly victims over a financial dispute and debt. The argument is believed to have driven him to commit the murder and arson,” he told reporters after attending the handing-over ceremony of the Kuala Selangor OCPD post.

Kuala Selangor OCPD Supt Ruslan Abdullah is retiring and his deputy, Deputy Supt Mohd Asri Abd Wahab, will be acting OCPD.

“The suspect has a speech and hearing impediment and does not have a criminal record.

“We have remanded him for seven days to facilitate investigations,” Comm Mazlan said, adding that police were waiting for the post mortem report to shed light on how the victims died. He said the case was considered solved.

“We are compiling our investigation papers and will refer them to the deputy public prosecutor’s office soon,” he said.

The elderly couple and their two grandsons died when their wooden house was razed.

But traces of accelerants at the scene of the fire, in Jalan Tepi Laut, Tanjung Sepat near here, prompted the Fire and Rescue Department and police to examine the remains of Chia Tee Nang, 73, Lim Mai Shak, 68, and their grandsons Ryan Chia Zeng Xi, 10, and Chia Yuan Bin, three.

They were found to have slash marks. Another grandson, aged 12, survived the attack and is being treated in a hospital.

Asked if there was any CCTV footage, Comm Mazlan said there was no CCTV in the surrounding areas.

In Klang, a friend of the family said the suspect has known the family only recently.

The family friend, who only wanted to be known as Lim, said the couple’s daughter, who is deaf-mute, had been dating the suspect for about only a year.

“She started dating this man after getting divorced from her husband and she has been bringing him to her parents’ house regularly,” he said.

However, the villagers did not know much about the man.

“He is from Kepong and no one really knows much about him,” said Lim.

According to Lim, the boyfriend owed a lot of people money and wanted to borrow cash from Chia to settle his debts.

“Chia had refused to give him a loan and we heard that there were some hard feelings between them after that,” he added.

He said the villagers, who were all either relatives or lifelong friends, were troubled and frightened over what had happened.

He said the arrest of the suspect has calmed the situation a little.

He said villagers had feared for their lives thinking the suspect or suspects could strike again.

“So this news has eased our fears but at the same time it is devastating to know that Chia’s family has been destroyed by someone who had enjoyed his hospitality,” added Lim.