CHANGLUN: It was common for police officers to visit the semi-detached double storey house located at the end of a street in Taman Hosba here, a small residential area comprising of just 14 homes.
The 35-year-old man, who lived there with his Thai-national wife and children, was described as a normal and friendly person who occasionally invited the neighbours for a small kenduri (feast).
His neighbours said they did not know much about his background.
However, the quiet and peaceful neighbourhood located near the Rural Transformation Centre (RTC) in Napoh was rocked by the cold-blooded murder of a Bukit Aman policeman on late Friday.
One of the neighbours said he noticed a police car entering the neighbourhood that evening but did not think much about it as it was common for cops to visit the house.
“I was about to go to a convenience store when I saw a patrol car passing by my house and headed for the man's house.
“At the time, I did not give it much thought as it was a common sight for us here.
“The next morning, I was shocked to hear that a policeman was shot at the house’s compound,” he told New Straits Times today.
He added that another neighbour told him that the latter heard explosions, thinking that they were fireworks going off.
A neighbour and her son from an adjacent housing area said she, too, had heard several explosions.
According to the 54-year-old housewife, she had just finished watching a drama series on television and was about to go to sleep when she heard the sounds.
She thought the sound was coming from fireworks since the Merdeka Day celebration is just around the corner.
“I have been living here for over 12 years and the area has been very peaceful until recently.
“Many incidents happened lately, such as the case where an automated teller machine installed inside the RTC in Napoh nearby was blown up with a homemade bomb," she said when met at her house in Taman Sri Hosba.
Checks at the man's house showed that it was unoccupied. It is understood that the man's wife and children had left the house.
A police forensics team was seen revisiting the house to carry out further investigations at the scene.
In the 10.25 incident on Friday, Sub-inspector Abu Hashim Ismail, 54, was shot dead by a lone gunman who fired six shots at close range, from outside the gate of the house.
Four bullet hit the victim, who was attached to the Federal police Anti-vice, Gaming and Secret society Department, killing him on the spot.
Kedah police chief Datuk Asri Yusoff said the victim had gone to the house to seek information from a man who was placed under a house arrest by the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca) Board, when he was attacked.
Asri had said the murder might be linked to a firearm smuggling case that Abu Hashim was working on for the past two weeks, which led to the arrest of three men recently.
The suspects are believe to be involved in gangsterism and smuggling activities.
Police have since detained the house owner and two other men to assist in the investigation.