SUBANG JAYA: Police have not ruled out the possibility that the brutal murder of a lance corporal in the Pinggiran USJ police station earlier today was a terror attack.
The case, which is being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department, saw intelligence agencies also scrambling its resources to scrutinise all angles, including to find if it was the work of terror groups like the Islamic State (IS), which is known to have plans to attack Malaysian security forces.
This was confirmed by Special Branch director Datuk Seri Fuzi Harun, when contacted hours after the attack.
“Yes, we are assisting in the investigation into this attack. The Special Branch is now looking at all angles and clues related to this incident,” he told the New Straits Times.
Lance Corporal Valentino Mesa was found dead by colleagues at 3.30am after they returned from a routine patrol. He was slashed in the head before being shot.
The assailant was believed to have used Valentino’s own service weapon to shoot him as the sidearm is still missing.
Sources who spoke to the NST on condition of anonymity said one reason that terrorism had not been ruled out was that the murder took place on Merdeka Day.
High profile celebrations like independence days and religious occasions are often chosen by terror groups to launch attacks so as to “make a statement”.
One source told the NST that the Pinggiran USJ police station was among several police facilities which had been previously identified as being “at risk of being targeted by terror groups” due to its secluded location.
“The case is being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department. However, security and intelligence agencies are also working to determine whether this incident was related to terrorism. So far, no groups or individuals have claimed responsibility,” said another source.
Selangor police chief Datuk Mazlan Mansor told reporters that investigators believe the attacker had gone to the station with the intention of causing harm to police.
He said initial investigations revealed that the victim had no “personal issues” that could have led to his murder.
However, he said, this was subject to further investigation.
The NST was made to understand that the assailant or assailants had brutally attacked the victim with a sharp weapon before shooting him execution-style in the back at close range.
Sources said the lance corporal, who was alone when he was set upon, was slashed once on his forehead.
Initial checks by police at the scene also revealed that he sustained at least five more slash wounds at the back of his head.
It is believed that the victim was shot in the back when he was lying face down on the floor after being slashed.
Police recovered fragments of the bullet fired at the victim on the floor, where his body was found, at the station’s front desk counter.
Also found was a 9mm bullet casing, believed to have been fired from the victim’s Walther P99 service pistol.
The semi-automatic firearm is missing, believed to have been taken by his attacker.
Police are still working to establish the motive behind the murder and identify the attacker. They also did not dismiss the possibility that the attack could have been committed by more than one person.
Mazlan said police would seek assistance from owners of nearby premises to review closed-circuit television camera recordings as the station did not have any.
The victim’s body was sent to Serdang Hospital for post-mortem.