REMBAU: Villagers living near an abandoned house in Kampung Batu 4, Pedas, where a woman’s body was found in a bag, said the prime suspect claimed to have returned to the property to clean it.
Several villagers also said they ran into the suspect days before the discovery of the body did not suspect anything amiss.
They said they last saw him in a car at the house
A villager who only wanted to be known as Rahim, 63, said the 51-year-old suspect, nicknamed “Adik”, visited his home on Dec 11.
“I was trimming trees when he came to greet me. We chatted and caught up as we had not seen each other in a long time.
“He said he was back to clean his mother’s house, which had been vacant for a while. I suspected nothing as he seemed normal,” he said when met.
Rahim said he had asked about the man’s family, and the suspect claimed he had long been separated from his previous partner but had recently married a woman from Sarawak.
“I suggested he bring his wife to stay at the family home, but he told me his wife was often away or overseas. I even joked with him,” he said, adding he has known the suspect for a long time.
“He suddenly reappeared in the village after a long absence. Villagers call him Adik because he is the youngest in his family,” he said.
Rahim said he and other villagers were shocked by news of the body’s discovery and the suspect’s subsequent arrest.
“Days before the woman’s body was found, he was seen having a drink at an eatery near a fishing pond close to his house. He had even asked for a quotation to build a fence for his mother’s home.
“A grass cutter also reported seeing a Proton Saga at the location at 8am on Dec 12,” he said.
Rahim added that the body was found at a house belonging to the suspect’s late sister, near his mother’s home.
It was previously reported that the body found outside the vacant house last Thursday is suspected to be linked to a missing person case reported in Ampang, Selangor, on Dec 15.
Yesterday, police said they believed the woman may have been killed in Ampang, Selangor, after an argument with one of the suspects. Two people have been arrested in connection with the case.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
