Murder in Malaysia (old post, revisited)

The news of the murders in Banting, a district of Kuala Langat in Selangor, of Cosmetics millionairess, Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya, 47 of Gombak, Selangor together with 3 others, namely, Noohisham, 38 (bank officer), Ahmad Kamil, 32 (lawyer) and Kamaruddin, 44 (driver for Sosilawati), has pushed back all other noteworthy news in Malaysia for these past few days. News of the appointment of the new Inspector General of Police, Tan Sri Ismail bin omar, the Hari Raya celebrations and, to an extent, even the installation of the Sultan of Kelantan went almost unnoticed.

It all started on the 6th September 2010, with the police saying that they had received report of their disappearance, since 30th August, by the families concerned.

The police were efficient in their investigations, and they were able to confirm, a few days later, that they had been murdered, and their bodies burnt in a plantation site called, Ladang Gadong, Tanjong Sepat. Their ashes were said to have been thrown in the river, nearby.

Two lawyer brothers, 38 and 41, who were said to be main culprits have been arrested. They were also said to be involved in the strange disappearances of a few other people of note, which the police are, vigorously,  reinvestigating.

It has been concluded that money, in the millions was involved, and that, basically, it was the result of a business dealing gone awry.

It is hoped the criminals who so mercilessly took away the precious God-given lives would be swiftly brought to justice. The punishment should be really and truly be a deterrent to the other would be murderers.

(On March 16, 2017, former lawyer Pathmanabhan, 47 and farm workers Thilaiyalagan, 25 and Kathavarayan, 37, were found guilty of the gruesome murders of Sosilawati and her three aides by five panels of judges led by Chief Justice Tun Arifin zakaria of the Malaysian Federal Court, and were sentenced to death).

Another thing, a real head scratcher; nowhere, was it mentioned, outright, how the four of them were killed before being burnt. One Malaysian Daily mentioned that Noohisham's DNA was found on a cricket bat, and the others' DNA profiles were found on blood stains on zinc sheets.