DISABLED MAN ARRESTED
Money squabble between suspect and victims said to be behind arson
AN argument over money is believed to have driven a 38-year-old man to set a home in Jalan Tepi Laut, Tanjung Sepat, on fire, killing Chia Tee Nang, 73, his wife, Lim Mai Shak, 68, and their two grandchildren on Wednesday.
The furniture factory worker, who has a speech and hearing impairment, admitted to committing the crime just hours after he was arrested by a team of investigators from the state police contingent’s serious crimes division in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
The suspect, who is also the boyfriend of the elderly couple’s only daughter, was detained in Taman Pusat Kepong at 1am yesterday.
He had earlier sought treatment at a private clinic in the Klang Valley shortly after the incident.
State police chief Datuk Mazlan Mansor said the police believed that the case had been solved with the man’s arrest.
Police obtained a week-long remand against the man from the Kuala Langat court yesterday.
“Investigations are ongoing under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder after criminal elements were detected in the case.
“The man, who has no past criminal record, acted alone. We believe that there was an argument at the house over financial matters such as loans on the day of the incident.
“That drove the suspect to commit the crime. We are investigating whether he had asked for money from the family or he owed (them). With this arrest, we consider the case solved.
“We are sure that he is the suspect because he had gone to receive medical treatment after the incident,” said Mazlan at the district police headquarters yesterday.
He was speaking after witnessing the handing over of duties between district police chief Superintendent Ruslan Abdullah and his successor, Deputy Superintendent Mohd Asri Abdul Wahab.
Reports had earlier stated that some of the victims were found with slash wounds.
Mazlan did not elaborate on this, saying that police were awaiting the post-mortem report from Banting Hospital.
“I will not declare the cause of death until I receive the postmortem results,” he said.