Ahmad Mukhsein Mukhtar
ALOR STAR: The suspect remanded in connection with the murder of his wife and daughter had requested to stay overnight at Masjid Al Hidayah, Bukit Pinang, before his arrest yesterday.
The mosque's imam Mohd Fauzi Bakar, 62, recalled as he was preparing to leave for a prayer gathering, he noticed the man sitting on the steps at the mosque's entrance around 9pm.
"Before the incident, I was rushing to a prayer gathering. The man told me his son was unwell. I touched his head and recited prayers for a few minutes.
"He asked for permission to sleep here, saying his son was cold. The mosque's procedures do not allow anyone to sleep inside, so we asked him to sleep outside, and he requested that we turn on the lights," he said when met today.
Fauzi said he had already turned off the lights when the suspect, who was wearing a 'kain pelikat' and shirt, was later detained by the police.
"One of the worshippers whispered to me that this was a murder case. That's when I found out, but I left it to the policemen present to do their duties," he added.
Earlier today, a foreigner was remanded for seven days to assist in the investigation of the murder of his wife and daughter, who were found in a drain behind an abandoned building along Sultan Abdul Halim Highway yesterday.
The remand order is until August 26 under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
Kota Setar police chief Assistant Commissioner Siti Nor Salawati Saad, said the 43-year-old foreigner was detained at a mosque in Bukit Pinang at 9pm yesterday.