KOTA KINABALU, July 10 — Police arrested today a local man in his 20s in connection to the case of a woman who was found half-naked and bruised but alive in a drain near here.
The man is believed to be an acquaintance of the unidentified woman, who is also in her 20s, Sabah deputy police commissioner Datuk Awang Sahari Nadzeer told reporters.
“The suspect was picked up at around 10.30am at a bus stop near the area where the victim was found semi-conscious with bruises on her face and body,” he said.
Police are investigating the case under Section 376 and 326 of the Penal Code for rape and voluntarily causing grievous harm.
The woman was found clad only in her bra in the water-filled drain near a seafood restaurant in Penampang.
She is currently under observation at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital here after undergoing an operation earlier to remove blood clots on her face and body.
“According to the doctors, there was also some injuries to her private parts, which leads us to believe she was raped,” Awang said, adding that the police was not discounting the possibility of more than one attacker.
“The victim is still in a state of trauma and recovery, which may lengthen investigations,” he added.
The woman was first spotted in the drain about noon by a pedestrian who was heading towards the bus stop in front of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bahang and thought to be dead.
Police arrived at the scene and extracted her before rushing her to the hospital for medical attention.
