KUBANG PASU: The older brother of slain Felcra retiree Sabari Baharom, initially thought Sabari was simply busy when he did not respond to calls and messages on Sept 4.
Unbeknownst to him, Sabari had already gone missing by then.
"I called him around 10pm to congratulate him on the birth of his two grandchildren, but he didn't answer. I sent him a text, not knowing he was already missing," Ismail, 69, told reporters during a briefing on the search for Sabari's body in Sungai Padang Terap, near Kampung Lubuk Batu, Jitra here today.
Ismail, the fifth of 11 siblings, said Sabari was the eighth child in the family.
Police reclassified Sabari's missing person case as a murder investigation after the arrest of two suspects, aged 26 and 38, who confessed to killing Sabari by throwing him into the river with his hands bound and mouth taped.
On Sept 24, police confirmed the arrest of a 62-year-old woman in connection with the case.
Sabari, a father of three, had been missing since Sept 3 after leaving his home in Kampung Mengkuang Tengah, Baling.
His car was later found burned in Belantik, Sik.