KUALA LUMPUR - A high-powered motorcycle believed to have been used in the drive-by shooting of Palestinian engineering lecturer Fadi al-Batsh in a Kuala Lumpur suburb on Saturday (April 21) has been recovered by Malaysian police.
Malaysia's national police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun confirmed the machine was found abandoned in Danau Kota, Setapak, some 2km from the scene of the shooting.
"Yes, we have seized the vehicle but I cannot divulge further details of the investigation," he said on Tuesday (April 24).
The Inspector-General of Police said that though the police have a lead on the case, it would not be easy to trace the two assailants as they have yet to be identified.
"We are working closely with the Immigration Department and other relevant agencies to track down the suspects based on the photo-fits and have tightened security along the borders," he said.
"But it would be a problem if they entered and exited using illegal trails," he added. He said several individuals have come forward to assist the police in investigations.
In the brutal early morning attack, two men wearing full-faced helmets waited 20 minutes on their high-powered motorcycle near Jalan Meranti in Setapak.
They gunned down Dr Fadi, 35, as he was walking to a mosque, some 300m from his home, to lead dawn prayers.
After checking security footage taken near the crime scene, police ruled out the possibility that Dr Fadi was the victim of a random shooting. Other people had walked past the two assailants without being attacked.
Dr Fadi's family accused Israel's Mossad spy agency of being behind the killing.
But the Israeli government dismissed the allegaton on Sunday, despite having labelled Dr Fadi a Hamas "rocket expert" and "no saint" in a report by the Palestine News Network.
It also said Israel had asked Egypt not to allow Dr Fadi's body to be brought back to Gaza, adding that it would not be under Israel's control since the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip falls under Egyptian sovereignty.
Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the decision was in line with Israel's policy on preventing the transfer of the bodies of martyrs from the Hamas movement for burial in the Gaza Strip.
Malaysia's Humanitarian Care (MyCare) chief executive officer Kamarul Zaman Shaharul Anwar said on Tuesday they have finally obtained approval to take Dr Fadi's remains to Gaza after going through several agencies in Egypt. More details on taking the body to the KL International Airport will be announced once a decision has been made.
Prayers for the dead man are scheduled to be conducted on Wednesday afternoon.
