GUN USED IN SUICIDE SEIZED
Mentally ill man used father’s shotgun to kill himself
POLICE have seized a shotgun belonging to a rubber estate owner in Padang Sanai, which was used by the man’s mentallyill son to commit suicide on Friday.
Padang Terap police chief Deputy Superintendent Noh Idris said besides confiscating the gun, police would review the firearm licence issued to the 56year-old estate owner.
“It is clearly stated that any firearm licence holder must store the weapon in a locked cabinet and in a locked room.
“We are investigating whether there was negligence and we will review the firearm licence issued to the father.”
In the 11am incident, the man’s 25-year-old son died when he allegedly shot himself using a shotgun in Kampung Poh Mu, Padang Sanai.
The incident had occurred in a rubber estate chalet owned by the family.
The man, from Kampung Rambutan, Kuala Nerang here, died at the scene from gunshot wounds to the chest.
Initial investigations revealed that the man had been suffering from mental illness and was alone during the incident.
Two weeks ago, Kedah police warned individual firearm owners to adhere to the regulations or risk their weapon being seized and licences revoked.
State Criminal Investigation Department chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Mior Farid Al Atrash Wahid was reported as reminding licensed firearm owners to ensure their weapons were kept in a safe place to prevent others from handling them.
Mior Farid also advised licence holders, especially senior citizens who were no longer fit to handle firearms, to surrender their licences and firearms to the police.
His warning came following a shotgun incident that claimed the life of an 8-year-old girl in Kampung Seberang Paya Empat, Pokok Sena.
In the incident, the victim, Puteri Intan Sharini Mohd Hishamuddin Azmi, was watching television at home when her 15-year-old uncle accidentally discharged the shotgun owned by the victim’s great-grandfather.
Puteri Intan Sharini died from gunshot wounds to the left neck and cheek.
The incident followed another one in Kedah this year where a 12year-old girl was hit 13 times by stray shotgun pellets at her home in Kampung Lubuk Keriang, also in Pokok Sena, in April.
The victim, Nur Syahida Bakar, was having dinner with her family in the kitchen when the stray pellets, shot by her neighbour who was hunting for birds, struck her.
Following the incident, the Alor Star magistrate’s court in October fined padi farmer Mohd Asri Said, 51, RM3,000 after he pleaded guilty to two charges of illegal possession of a rifle and firing a shot that injured the victim.
The court also ordered Asri to pay RM5,000 in compensation to the victim for her injuries and trauma.