BANTING: The number of people believed killed at a poultry farm near here rose to seven as calls mounted for the Attorney-General to engage the assistance of top criminal lawyers to structure an iron-clad case.
Police today confirmed the latest case involves businessman Thevaraj Shanmugam, 28, from Taiping, whose missing person’s report — linked to the main suspect, a lawyer — has been upgraded to a murder inquiry.
An eighth case involving housewife T. Selvi, who was slashed to death outside her house in Taman Chempaka here in 2008 has also been linked to the lawyer.
Police said today there were strong indications that Thevaraj who had business dealings with the lawyer and his brother, also a legal mind, was killed.
Police believe all seven, including cosmetics millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and her three aides, could have been murdered at the poultry farm, owned by the lawyer, at Ladang Gadong, Tanjung Sepat.
None of the bodies has been found.
Thevaraj was among three people listed as missing by police investigating the murders of Sosilawati, her lawyer, financial adviser and driver.
The others are Kedah businessman Mohd Shafiq Abdullah, 37, and Indian millionaire A. Muthuraja, 34.
As the count in the ghastly farm murders increased, a cross-section of society has urged the Attorney-General to seek the experience of top criminal lawyers in what appears to be a complex case.
“The involvement of top criminal lawyers would be of immense help to investigations and subsequent prosecutions,” said a senior lawyer.
There are provisions in the law for the government to appoint private practitioners to assist the prosecution or a coroner as in the case of the Teoh Beng Hock inquest.
The Attorney-General has returned investigation papers into the murder of Sosilawati and three others to the police and asked them to probe deeper.
Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail has also given several specific instructions to the police on the areas to cover. He had also asked the police to investigate other cases said to be linked to the suspects.
Sosilawati, 47, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, bank officer Noorhisham Mohammad, 38, and her driver Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44, went missing on Aug 30 after they went to Banting to discuss a land deal.
The four were believed killed, their bodies burnt and the ashes thrown into a river near Ladang Gadong.
Eight suspects, including two lawyer brothers, have been arrested in connection with the killings.
Police had also arrested two more suspects in connection with Muthuraja's disappearance.
Police have asked family members of Thevaraj, Mohd Shafiq and Muthuraja to provide DNA samples for comparison with evidence found at the crime scene.
It is not immediately known when Thevaraj went missing but Mohd Shafiq was last seen by his wife on April 5 while Muthuraja, who had several business dealings with the two brothers, had been missing since he came to Malaysia on Jan 18.
Mohd Shafiq’s wife, Samson Nahar Mohd Dali, lodged a missing person’s report on April 13. Several days later, Samson Nahar went to Mohd Shafiq’s rented apartment in Meadow Park 2 in Jalan Kuchai Lama here and found her husband’s belongings, including his passport.
She found one of the lawyer brother’s business card among his belongings.
His car, which was stripped of almost all its parts, was found abandoned at Port Klang in early May.
She was asked by police to identify his leather-strap wristwatch that was found at the poultry farm when she went to the Banting police station on Sept 12.
Muthuraja’s wife Usharani only lodged a police report about his disappearance on Sept 8.
She did not lodge a missing person’s report with the Chennai police although she had contacted the Interpol liaison officer there about his disappearance in last February.
0 comments:
Post a Comment