JOHOR BARU, Dec 29 — The 19 year-old suspect assault-cum-murder of 44-year-old loan shark Tan Aik Chai at a petrol station in Taman Pelangi is a seasoned criminal, according to police sources.

Malay Mail understands that the teenager, who is one of the main suspects in the brutal murder has a long list of criminal charges in his record, which range from assault, theft, stealing, drugs, evading police arrest, abduction to possession of illegal firearms.

The special investigations task force found that the teen suspect had 17 criminal cases with nine arrests under him, including the latest connected to the murder case.

Malay Mail learnt that the suspect in question was among one of the four main suspects who investigators believe can shed light on the events leading to the brutal murder of Tan.

"The suspect, who was also wanted in connection with other cases, was arrested by a police special investigations task force at his grandparents house in Taman Johor Jaya with three others on December 20, three days after the murder took place. He has since had his remand extended.”

Investigators believe that the suspect, a school dropout, has information that can lead police to the second murder weapon, which is the knife used to stab Tan.

The first murder weapon, the white BMW 5-Series, was found abandoned at a palm oil plantation in Ayer Baloi, Pontian on Tuesday following a public tip-off.

Sources familiar with the case revealed that 17 days prior to Tan’s brutal murder, the suspect was believed to have been involved in an assault of a lorry driver by threatening the victim with a knife and throwing firecrackers into his lorry with several others using the same white BMW 5-Series in Taman Sentosa here.

"Initial investigations showed that the incident was sparked by a disagreement related to road rage at 11.50am where the suspects had intentionally reversed and banged into the lorry.

"Investigators are keen to link the suspect to the case as the white BMW 5-Series had the WB79L registration and the suspects’ had also used the now notorious "firecracker trademark” as well as a knife,” the source told Malay Mail.

Despite the suspect’s relatively young age, sources said he is known to be violent, aggressive and linked to several Johor Baru-based youth gangs active in Taman Pelangi, Taman Sentosa, Mount Austin and Taman Johor Jaya areas.

"The suspect has been in and out of police stations for the past four years and had been also arrested for a high-speed chase with police involving firearms possession and also possession of machetes under Ops Cantas in 2014,” said the sources.

Checks revealed that the suspect’s first brush with the law was back in 2013 when he was 15-years-old. He was arrested with several other teens involving a theft of RM100,000 in cash at a house in Taman Jaya Putra Perdana here.

The following year, the suspect, who was then 16, was investigated for a house break-in in Majidee and also nabbed under a Ops Cantas operation against secret societies and gangs at an entertainment outlet in Taman Mount Austin where police recovered three long machetes, a stolen car and also motorcycle helmets believed to be used in a gang fight.

However, it was the police patrol car high-speed chase involving possession of a semi-automatic pistol and 20 over rounds of 9mm ammunition in Taman Mount Austin in September of the same year that saw him and several others arrested and charged. He was incarcerated for a year before being released.

In the case, the suspect was the rear passenger of a Proton Iswara car with three other youths that tried to evade a random police patrol car check that resulted in six patrol cars chasing the suspects. Police later recovered the semi-automatic pistol and ammunition scattered along the road after the chase.

After his release in 2016, the suspect was again on the police radar following a gang fight that ended in stabbing at a popular entertainment outlet in Taman Sentosa. He was later identified and arrested in Pontian in connection with the case in September this year under Section 326 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means.

This year alone also saw the suspect wanted in connection with six other cases including gang fights using dangerous weapons, abduction, assault and also drug abuse in Johor Baru.

On December 17, a video clip of the brazen assault-cum-murder was uploaded online showing the victim, identified as Tan, being dragged and stabbed by four suspects before being run over twice with a white BMW 5-Series.

Earlier this week, Johor police chief Datuk Mohd Khalil Kader Mohd assured the public that police will conduct a thorough investigation to ensure an airtight case.

A total of 15 individuals were nabbed in connection with the case over the last week, but 11 of them have since been released.

Police are still on a manhunt for three male suspects that are linked directly to the murder.