JOHOR BARU: Police will have to wait for a court order before the man, who allegedly murdered his wife and two-month-old baby boy in Kampung Bakar Batu here, can be sent for a mental evaluation.
Johor Baru South OCPD Asst Comm Raub Selamat said the motive behind the murder was still being investigated.
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"The suspect is cooperative but he is still tightlipped.
"We will need an order from the court before we can send him for a mental health check at Hospital Permai.
"Such an order will usually come after we get instructions to bring the suspect to court to be charged," he said when contacted by The Star.
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The 25-year-old suspect was arrested on Monday (July 4) afternoon after the bodies of a 26-year-old pastry chef and her infant son were found in a pool of blood near the front door of their house a few hours prior.
The suspect, believed to be the woman’s husband, allegedly fled the scene on a motorcycle after the incident and was later seen riding on busy roads in Johor Baru without any clothes on.
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Video clips of the naked man on his motorcycle went viral across social media platforms.
During his arrest, police also found a meat cleaver in the motorcycle and a drug test found him negative for substance use.
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The suspect has been placed under a seven-day remand until July 11 to help with ongoing investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
After his arrest, ACP Raub was quoted as saying that the suspect would be sent for a mental evaluation.
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Meanwhile, a Kampung Bakar Batu resident who is a neighbour to the suspect’s family, claimed that the man was facing some problems after starting a new cleaning job near the Senai-Desaru Expressway in Kota Tinggi not long ago.
"He used to be a building cleaner before switching jobs to clean an abandoned ship that has been left in the area for quite some time.
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"According to his friends, the suspect has changed since working there not long ago where his temper would flare up in just a matter of seconds.
"On the night as well as morning before the incident, some of the neighbours said they heard people quarrelling in the house but they paid no mind as they thought it was just a lover’s tiff," added the neighbour, who declined to be identified.
The neighbour also hoped the public would stop speculating about the incident as the suspect and the deceased woman were "good people".
