JOHOR BARU, Sept 21 — A mother and her daughter were believed to have been murdered at their house in Jalan Beladau, Taman Putri Wangsa, Ulu Tiram near here, early this morning.

Johor Baru Selatan police chief ACP Sulaiman Salleh said the victims, identified as M. Mariayee, 56, and S. Turgadevi, 16, were found with stab wounds in several parts of their bodies.

He said Mariayee’s second child, S. Perabakaran, 33, discovered the bodies sprawled in a pool of blood in the third room of their house.

"Checks revealed that the mother was stabbed in her left rib, neck and back while the daughter was stabbed in her body, neck and mouth. She was also slashed around her wrist, suggesting that she had put up a fight with the suspects,” he told reporters at the Johor Baru Selatan police district headquarters here today.

Sulaiman said police ruled out robbery as the motive for the murder as there were no signs of forced entry.

"We also believe the victims knew the suspects and had allowed the suspects in before the incident,” he said.

Initial investigations also revealed that four men were believed to be involved in the murder and the identity of one of the suspects had been identified and police were now closing in on the suspect, he said.

Meanwhile, Perabakaran, who lives not that far from his mother’s house said he was with his father at the time of the incident.

"I was surprised to see the house door left open but no one responded to me when I called (them). I then entered the house and saw my mother lying on the bed in a pool of blood, while my (youngest) sister was on the floor,” he said when met at the scene.

Perabakaran said his mother was baby-sitting his three-year-old daughter who was found crying in the same room but not hurt. — Bernama