POLICE SEEK CCTV RECORDINGS
They are urging owners of nearby premises to hand over any recordings
POLICE yesterday urged owners of premises near a station where a policeman was murdered to come forward with any closedcircuit television (CCTV) camera recordings they may have.
Selangor police chief Datuk Mazlan Mansor said any CCTV recordings furnished to investigators could shed light on the early morning murder of Lance Corporal Valentino Mesa, who was found with slash and gunshot wounds at 3.30am at the station on Wednesday.
Valentino, 29, was found dead at the front desk of the Pinggiran USJ police station in Taman Perindustrian UEP, Subang Jaya, by his colleagues, who had just returned from patrols.
“We will look into the CCTV recordings provided to us. Investigations into the case are ongoing. Please give us space to investigate this case,” Mazlan said.
Mazlan also denied that Valentino’s Walther P99 service pistol, believed to have been taken by his attacker, had been found.
Some 16 hours after the attack, a 34-year-old suspect, believed to be a relative of the victim, was detained as he was about to board a flight to Sibu from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 7.30pm.
The suspect, a Sarawakian, was handed over to investigators from the Subang Jaya police headquarters’ serious crimes division. He was questioned before being arrested at 1am.
Valentino, who had served in the force for seven years, was brutally attacked with a sharp weapon before being shot execution-style in the back at close range.
He was found with a slash wound on his forehead, and five more at the back of his head.
It is believed that the victim was shot in the back when he was lying face down on the floor after being slashed. Police recovered fragments of the bullet from the victim.
A 9mm casing, believed to be from the bullet fired from the victim’s service pistol, was found. The firearm was missing, believed to have been taken by his attacker.
Valentino’s body was flown to Sibu Airport at 7.45pm yesterday, before being transported to his home village in Lubuk Besar, Sarikei.
In Petaling Jaya, police obtained a week-long remand order yesterday against the suspect detained in connection with Valentino’s killing.
The man, clad in orange lock-up attire, was brought to the magistrate’s court here at 11.15am.
He was escorted by a plainclothes policeman, and spent about 15 minutes in the court before being ushered into a waiting police car.
Selangor Criminal Investigation Department chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Fadzil Ahmat said the man would be remanded until next Thursday.