KOTA KINABALU: Police have arrested a man, believed to have slashed his wife multiple times in a fit of jealousy, in Sabah’s northern district of Kota Marudu.
Kota Marudu district police chief Supt Somiun Lomidin said the 50-year-old Indonesian man surrendered to police after hiding for over 15 hours in an oil palm plantation following the alleged attack at their home in Kampung Mangkupa at 8.30am on Thursday (June 25).
He said the man came to the Kota Marudu police headquarters at about 12.15am on Friday (June 26) and was immediately arrested.
Supt Somiun said the suspect has been remanded for seven days under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code to assist further investigation into the case, which is classified under Section 326 of the Penal Code for causing grievous hurt using a dangerous weapon.
The suspect allegedly slashed his local wife at least 14 times including on her neck after seeing her talking to a male neighbour and ordering her not to speak to him.
The severely injured mother of six children is being treated at the Kota Marudu hospital and was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital here. Her condition is reportedly serious but stable.
Supt Somiun said the Forensic Unit from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Sabah Police Headquarters managed to recover the machete believed to have been used in the incident, which was hidden in nearby bushes.
“Police also seized clothing believed to have been worn by the suspect during the incident after finding it in bushes near a banana plantation,” he said in a statement.
