Police have detained a close relative at his home, where a pistol with 10 live bullets were found.

Mrs A. Puspawati, a mother of two, was on her way home in Subang Jaya from a hotel in Putrajaya, where she worked as a marketing manager, when her Proton Aeroback broke down.

Forced to pull over at the 3.9km mark of the Kajang-Putrajaya highway around 12.30am, she called a colleague about the breakdown.

The Star yesterday reported Sepang district police chief Zahedi Ayob as saying that Mrs Puspawati had been talking on the mobile phone about her car when the colleague heard the sound of glass breaking. Then the line was cut off suddenly.

According to the New Straits Times, the colleague reported Mrs Puspawati as saying that someone was following her.

'The conversation was cut short and the colleague distinctly heard the sound of glass breaking before the call was disconnected,' the newspaper reported the police chief as saying.

'The colleague gathered several people together and they rushed to the location where Mrs Puspawati's vehicle had broken down.'

The victim was found slumped in the driver's seat. She had been shot in the right cheek, shoulder and left palm.

Her handbag, mobile phone and valuables were not stolen.

The police chief said her car had been sent to the Road Transport Department for inspection, to determine whether it had been tampered with.

Police also detained a close relative at his home in Subang at about 6am. There, they found a pistol with 10 live bullets. They are investigating whether it was the murder weapon.

The 42-year-old relative reportedly works as a security manager in Subang Jaya, and has a gun licence.

Superintendent Zahedi said the police were investigating the motive of the murder, and trying to ascertain if more than one person was involved.

Mrs Puspawati's body has been taken to Serdang Hospital for a post-mortem.

Her family and friends were shocked to learn of her murder. They described her as a jovial person who had no enemies.

A close friend who declined to be identified said he last spoke on Tuesday to Mrs Puspawati, who said she had 'felt bad' because she was not spending enough time with her daughters, aged five and six, during the school holidays.

'She was planning where to take them at the weekend,' he said.

He said the murder victim and her husband had gone their separate ways a year ago, after being married for almost eight years.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK