Boss denies bullying led to cook’s death

SUBANG JAYA: The employer of a man that had been killed by his roommate over alleged bullying is rubbishing the suspect’s claims.

The victim’s boss said the victim, a 20-year-old chef, was a well-liked member of the team.

He said the suspect had been fired in mid-March due to an incident at work.

“He was fired because he pulled a knife on a fellow worker. He had been working as a dishwasher for a week or two. The suspect has a terrible temper and claimed he was being bullied.

“The victim was actually well liked by the team, ” he said.

He added the victim had allowed the suspect to stay with him.

“He also helped cover his rent when the suspect claimed he had no money, ” he said.

The murder came to light after the victim failed to contact his aunt after work on April 18.

Subang Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Abd Khalid Othman said family members were concerned when he failed to call his aunt that day.

“He would call her every night but when he didn’t then it caused his aunt to worry. His boss also said he did not report for work that day.

After checking his apartment at Jalan Kemajuan, the police found blood in the toilet. CCTV footage showed three unknown men entering the flat at midnight, ” he said.

The footage showed the group leaving the flat, carrying a heavy, black plastic bag.

Investigations led to the discovery of the victim’s personal belongings and what is believed to be murder weapons and the plastic bag which contained the victim’s body. They were found about 1.5km away from the scene.

Police believe the victim had been attacked with a cable, before being pushed into the toilet where he was fatally stabbed.

A series of arrests were made on April 19, including the arrest of the main suspect in Port Dickson. Four men were arrested in total, including a roommate.

A suspect told police during interrogation that the motive behind the murder was due to the victim bullying one of the suspects at work.

“Two of the suspects were brought in under the assumption that they were there to rob the flat. However, we believe the main suspect, who is the victim’s roommate and former colleague, had already intended to murder the victim, ” he said.