BANGKOK: After being on the run for several months, the alleged mastermind behind the brutal murder of a man at a petrol station in Johor Baru in December last year was finally caught in Thailand.
The suspect who is in his 40s and sported a large tattoo on his right arm was apprehended by a team of Thai police officers in Chaiyaphum province, about 260km northeast of Bangkok about 7am today.
“The man is the most sought after suspect in the murder case. He is the alleged mastermind,” Royal Malaysian Police assistant liasion officer in Thailand Supt Ridzuan Abdul Aziz told Bernama here, today.
His capture by Thai police this morning following a request for assistance from their Malaysian counterpart several months ago, finally brought an end to an extensive hunt by authorities of both neighbouring countries which stretches two borders and several thousand kilometres.
Thai police are expected to call a media conference soon to announce the suspect’s arrest and other details surrounding his capture.
They will also explain issues on the man’s impending extradition to Malaysia to face justice for his alleged crime.
In an interview with Bernama in Bangkok last January, Bukit Aman’s Criminal Investigation Department chief Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Najmuddin Mohd disclosed that several of the suspects involved in the high-profile petrol station murder case had escaped and gone into hiding in Thailand.
The police he said, had sought cooperation from Thai Police to track down the suspects and mastermind of the widely-reported case.
During the interview, the CID chief also expressed the police’s confidence on tracking down the suspects and bringing them home to Malaysia to face justice for the grisly murder.
The police according to him, got the suspects’ photos and other records of their entry into Thailand.
A video clip of the incident went viral on social media.
In the Dec 17 brutal incident, a 44-year-old man known as “Ah Chiu” was stabbed and run over by a white BMW car at a petrol station in Taman Pelangi.
Following the murder which shocked the nation due to its brutality and committed in public space, the police swung into action and arrested several men and women suspected to be linked with the case.
The police have also charged two suspects last January, while maintaining a hunt for several other suspects who remained on the run. --BERNAMA