Family, friends baffled why anyone would want to kill Valentino

SERDANG: Friendly, easy-going and happy-go-lucky.

This was how Lance Corporal Valentino Mesa, who was murdered while on duty at the Pinggiran USJ police station, was described by family, friends and colleagues.

Met at the Serdang Hospital mortuary, they said he was the kind of person who would not have any enemy, and that he was very likable.

As such, they were bewildered as to how he could have been murdered so brutally.

Valentino, 29, was slashed and shot yesterday.

His wife, known only as Rossie, was present at the mortuary and was seen being consoled by family and friends. There were some 30 relatives, colleagues and friends present.

Valentino’s 33-year-old brother-in-law, who wanted to be known only as Mohd Dilang, said his remains would be flown to Sarawak at 7.45pm yesterday.

“He will be buried in his hometown in Lubuk Besar,” said Dilang, adding that family members were devastated by the news.

Valentino’s friend, who wanted to be known only as Nick, said he was shocked at his death.

Nick, who is a policeman stationed in Kajang, came with his Sarawakian colleagues to pay their last respects to Valentino.

“Valentino had no enemy. He was a friendly, easy-going and a happy-go-lucky person. It’s hard to accept that such a decent man like him was murdered.”

Valentino was found dead by his colleagues, who had just returned from a routine patrol at 3.30am. He was found lying face down near the police station’s front-desk counter.

Selangor police chief Datuk Mazlan Mansor said police were investigating the motive for the killing and didn’t rule out that there could be more than one person involved in Valentino’s murder.

Valentino had served the police force for seven years.