KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 — Disputes and misunderstandings at work among foreign workers are among the motives for murder cases in the country from 2009 until 2019, said Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Huzir Mohamed.

He said of the 5,403 murder cases recorded during the period, 844 cases involved disputes.

"484 murder cases during that period were related to robbery, burglary and theft.

"A total of 5,542 victims had been murdered with 3,453 victims being Malaysians while the rest were foreigners,” he said in a special press conference in Bukit Aman, here.

He said his team was able to identify about 50 per cent of the motives for murder cases in the country, while the rest could not be ascertained because the decomposed bodies made the post-mortem process tough.

Huzir said during the period, a total of 9,398 individuals were arrested for involvement in murder cases.

Meanwhile, he said the crime index in the country, which was categorised according to violent crimes and property, showed a declining trend over the past 11 years.

He said, in comparison, the total number of violent crime cases in 2009 was 42,365 compared to 16,902 in 2019.

As for property crimes, the total number of cases recorded in 2009 was 170,313 compared to 71,760 in 2019.

Violent crimes include murder, rape cases and robbery while property crimes include theft and snatch theft. — Bernama