KOTA KINABALU: A normal day at work turned gruesome for a trash collector who made a shocking discovery upon finding a severed arm at a dumpsite in Indah Permai near here early Thursday (Feb 12).
In the 7am incident, the arm fell out of a trash bag, prompting the worker to stop and call the cops immediately.
A police report was immediately lodged, with police later finding a head and a torso at around 11.40am at a site not too far away from the first location.
Based on initial information, the victim was believed to have been dismembered into at least seven parts using a sharp tool elsewhere before they were bagged and thrown in different locations.
Kota Kinabalu OCPD Asst Comm Kasim Muda said teams of investigators, as well as the K9 Unit, were sent to the scene once they received the call around 8am.
“We subsequently found other body parts belonging to a woman in several nearby locations, and believe they belong to the same person,” he said in a statement.
However, the identity of the victim has yet to be ascertained, he said, stating that police have reasons to believe that the woman might have been killed and dismembered elsewhere before she was dumped in the area.
“Efforts to find the next of kin are ongoing,” ACP Kasim said, adding that the cause of death, motive, modus operandi and other related matters were being investigated.
The body parts were all sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital I Forensics Unit and a post mortem is scheduled to be conducted at 8.30 on Friday (Feb 13).
ACP Kasim said the case is being investigated for murder, while those with information which could help in this case are urged to contact the investigating officer Asst Supt Rahman at 012-310 6882 or the IPD Kota Kinabalu at 088-529222.
“All information and identity of those who come forward will be kept private and confidential,” he said in assuring a thorough and professional investigation to be conducted to ensure the capture of the offender.
Earlier, it was reported that after the first limb discovery, police had subsequently located a leg from the same place and a head and a torso from another site at around 11.40am, not too far away from the first location.
