KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 — The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) confirmed today that one of its auxiliary police officers was arrested with three other Malaysians in Batam, Indonesia, last week over the murder of a Malaysian man.
Its corporate communication chief Datin Asmawati Ahmad added that only one suspect works with PDRM, refuting a claim in Indonesian daily The Jakarta Post today that said the other three were the man’s “colleagues”.
“Referring to the arrest of four Malaysian citizens in Batam, Indonesia, over their suspected links to a murder case, PDRM confirms that only one among them is an auxiliary policeman attached to a statutory body.
“This case took place outside of Malaysia and is under Indonesia’s jurisdiction. PDRM will always cooperate with the Indonesian police to assist in investigations,” she said in a statement.
Early this morning, The Jakarta Post reported that four Malaysians — including one identified as an auxiliary police constable with PDRM — were arrested by Indonesian authorities last Friday in connection with a murder in Batam. The English language daily reported that the four suspects are believed to be colleagues of the victim, Amar Aswan, 29, who is also a Malaysian citizen.
Amar was found dead on a trolley in his room at the hotel where he was staying. Autopsy results found that he had been gagged and his head had sustained serious impact injuries, the news report said.
“We are still investigating the motives behind the killing. According to the suspects, the victim was involved in a quarrel with them in a night spot and hit one of them,” Barelang City Police chief Senior Commander Asep Safrudin was quoted as saying.
“They could not tolerate this, and after the victim returned to his hotel, they assaulted him. But we will find out whether there were other motives, such as links to drug-trafficking,” he added.
Asep said security guards at the BCC Hotel and Residence hotel in Batam informed police about the incident early last Tuesday, leading to the arrests of the suspects three hours later at two international ports as they attempted to return to Malaysia.
The auxiliary police constable and another individual were already en route to Stulang Laut in Johor Baru when their ferry was intercepted by a water police unit.
The two other suspects were apprehended at the Harbour Bay Port in Batu Ampar, Batam while waiting for their ferry, which was also bound for Stulang Laut.
It is understood that the Barelang City Police have asked PDRM for information on the four suspects, including any criminal records.
The suspects are expected to be charged with premeditated murder, which carries a sentence of between 20 years and life in prison in Indonesia.
