PASIR GUDANG: The husband of a woman, whose dismembered body was identified eight months after she went missing, wants the death penalty for the perpetrator.
"My hope is that the person will receive the deserved punishment, if possible, the death penalty," said Mohd Yusof Mokhtar, 35.
His wife, Istiqomah Ahmad Rozi, 34, a teacher, did not return home from work on Dec 26 last year.
A missing person report was lodged the next day, and her car was later found at a popular supermarket here.
On Dec 31, the body parts of a woman were found in a trash bin that was thrown into a drain in Kampung Tanjung Rimau, Pulau Sebang, Melaka.
However, the identity of the person was unknown at the time.
On Aug 12, Alor Gajah police chief Superintendent Ashari Abu Samah said DNA tests showed that the remains were those of Istiqomah.
Yusof said Istiqomah was a devoted wife.
He said the family accepted the fate that befell her but insisted that justice be done.
"Our family demands that a harsh punishment be imposed because the person who did this was inhumane," Yusof said at his home in Taman Kota Masai, here, today.
Yusof has three children — Naura Auni, 9, Muhammad Naufal Amzar, 6, and Nayla Aisya, 4.
He hopes that they will eventually come to terms with their mother's death after waiting nearly eight months for her safe return.
"My eldest daughter is very quiet and misses her mother badly. I comfort her, telling her that I'm here, and so are her grandparents.
"My eldest and second children don't cry. They just say that their mother has gone to school.
"My eldest didn't want to go to school because her friends kept asking about her missing mother."
Istiqomah's mother, Saleha Ya, 58, said she last saw her during a family vacation two days before she went missing.
Saleha and her husband Ahmad Rozi Latimin, 64, who live in Pasir Mas, Kelantan, had given DNA samples to the police to aid in the identificaton of the remains.
"We have accepted Allah's will. She loved helping people. If someone didn't have money, she would tell me, 'Umi, that person doesn't have money, let's give them some."
Ahmad Rozi said Istiqomah would be buried in Kampung Kubang Badak, Pasir Mas.
"We are waiting for the post-mortem to be completed. Once it's done, her remains will be taken straight to Pasir Mas for burial," he said.