KUBANG PASU: Did the prime suspects in the murder of retired Felcra finance officer Sabari Baharom, 62, decide to kill him after the victim identified them in an apparent robbery that had gone awry?
It is learnt that this is among the motives that police are trying to establish after apprehending two prime suspects - a contractor and his nephew, aged 38 and 26.
It was reported that they had admitted to murdering the victim by throwing him into Sungai Padang Terap here, with his hands bound and mouth taped.
Sources familiar with the investigation said contrary to the earlier belief that Sabari had left the house on Sept 3, the victim actually was abducted from his house in Kampung Mengkuang Tengah in Kuala Pegang, Baling in the wee hours of Sept 4.
It was learnt that the suspects from Wang Tepus, Jitra here, had befriended Sabari while carrying out renovation works at a house belonging to the victim's neighbour, located about 110km from here.
The suspects subsequently hatched a plan to rob the father of three, after learning that he was living alone at the house.
It was understood that the suspects, with their faces covered, had broken into the house during the wee hours on Sept 4 and forced the victim to surrender his cash, valuables and bank ATM cards.
However, it was learnt things took a twist when Sabari during a scuffle was able to identify one of the robbers after unmasking him. Fearing that the victim would report them to the police, the suspects decided to abduct Sabari. They bundled the victim into his Proton Waja.
The suspects drove the victim to a location in Kampung Empa, Wang Tepus where they threw the victim into the river. To cover their tracks, the suspects took the victim's car to a secluded spot in Belantek, Sik district about 60km away from his home and set the vehicle ablaze. The charred car was found by passers-by on Sept 20.
On Sept 24, Kedah police chief Datuk Fisol Salleh told a press conference that police had detained a 62-year-old woman to shed light on the investigation.
It was learnt that police had obtained a breakthrough after tracking down a young woman who appeared on a CCTV recording after using the victim's ATM card to transfer RM16,000 to an older woman's account in Bayan Lepas, Penang.
The sources said police subsequently uncovered the prime suspects' identity after questioning the woman, leading to their arrest.
It is understood that the suspects were arrested on Friday, upon returning from a holiday in Batam, Indonesia. Police have obtained a remand order for both suspects until Oct 5.
Following the disclosure made by prime suspects, police launched a search operation involving police, the Fire and Rescue Department and the Civil Defence Force to locate the victim's body yesterday (Sept 30).
The search radius has since been extended from 5km yesterday to 12.8km radius today. However, as of press time, there was no sign of the victim's remains.