KUBANG PASU: The third day of the search for murdered 62-year-old Sabari Baharom, who was dumped alive into Sungai Padang Terap, has yielded no significant breakthrough.
Search operations have been hindered by the river's size and strong currents, exacerbated by the fact it has been almost a month since the incident.
It is feared that the recent floods in Jitra may have swept the victim's body further down Sungai Padang Terap, which stretches some 60km to Yan district.
Today's (Oct 2) search operation, which began at 10am, covered a 13km radius from Kampung Empa Bridge, where the suspects reportedly dumped Sabari with his hands bound and his mouth taped.
Despite the continued efforts of the police, Civil Defence Force and Fire and Rescue Department, the search teams have been unable to obtain any new lead as the search operation was suspended for the day about 6pm.
Sabari's wife, Shubiah Roslina Shahibi, 57, was present at the scene.
Yesterday, she expressed her wish to have a proper burial for her late husband.
On Sept 30, police reclassified Sabari's missing person case as a murder investigation following the arrest of two prime suspects, a 38-year-old contractor and his nephew, aged 26.
State police chief Datuk Fisol Salleh reportedly said the suspects admitted to binding Sabari's hands, taping his mouth, and throwing him into the river.
Prior to that, police had detained a woman, 62, to assist in the probe after it was discovered that there were suspicious money transfers from Sabari's account, following his disappearance.
It was reported that the Felcra financial officer retiree could have been a victim of a robbery went awry.