KOTA KINABALU: Police in Keningau are searching for a Filipino man after the body of a missing Pakistani trader was found buried near a village.
The body of 30-year-old Abdul Hafiz was found with head injuries in a freshly dug grave near Kg Kitung along Jalan Keningau on Sunday (Sept 21).
Keningau district police chief Supt Yampil Anak Garai said on Thursday (Sept 25) that the body was sent to the Keningau Hospital for a post-mortem.
He said they are looking for a Filipino man married to a local woman with three children to assist investigations into the murder.
He said Abdul Hafiz’s body was found about 100 metres from the Filipino’s house, adding that the man works at a rubber plantation and lives with his local wife and three children.
Supt Yampil then added that a motive is being established for the murder, and said that a friend reported that Abdul Hafiz went on Saturday (Sept 20) to meet someone in Kg Meninipir in Keningau and would return after “resolving some business”.
“The last time Abdul Hafiz contacted the friend was 5.12pm on Saturday,” Supt Yampil said, adding that the friend lodged a missing person’s report at 2pm on Monday (Sept 22).
The friend provided police with a text message from the victim’s number containing a picture of his last location at Jalan Mangkalias, Tenom, at about 6.58pm on Saturday.
Supt Yampil said police initially searched the Kg Mangkalias area but the victim was not found.
“Further inspection of the area led to the discovery of a mobile phone belonging to the victim,” he said, adding that they broadened their search to neighbouring Kg Meninipir before moving to Kg Kitung following fresh leads.
Police found the victim’s motorcycle, clothes and a machete sheathed in a white sack, in addition to a pile of freshly dug soil where the victim was buried.
