Police nab two over JB petrol station killing

Man and woman, aged 19 and 22, arrested by special unit yesterday

Mr Tan Ah Choy's widow (kneeling) and two Buddhist monks were seen on Tuesday offering prayers at the petrol station in Taman Pelangi, Johor Baru, where the killing took place. Police investigations are going on, including whether the murder was moti
Mr Tan Ah Choy's widow (kneeling) and two Buddhist monks were seen on Tuesday offering prayers at the petrol station in Taman Pelangi, Johor Baru, where the killing took place. Police investigations are going on, including whether the murder was motivated by a dispute over a drug trade, said a news report. PHOTO: THE STAR ONLINE/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Mr Tan Ah Choy's widow (kneeling) and two Buddhist monks were seen on Tuesday offering prayers at the petrol station in Taman Pelangi, Johor Baru, where the killing took place. Police investigations are going on, including whether the murder was moti
The victim, identified as Mr Tan Ah Choy in media reports, was stabbed and then run over twice by the assailants' car.

Malaysian police have detained a man and a woman over the recent brazen killing of a man at a Johor Baru petrol station .

They were arrested at 2.30am yesterday, three days after the attack, police said.

"We confirm that the police's special task force has arrested a Chinese man and a Chinese woman, aged 19 and 22, to facilitate the investigation," Johor police chief Khalil Kader Mohd said in a statement.

He added that fake and inaccurate news stories relating to the incident had caused public anxiety and interfered with police investigations.

The violent killing of the man, named as Mr Tan Ah Choy in media reports, has shocked Malaysians, with the authorities not discounting the possibility that it was an assassination.

The victim was stabbed, and then run over twice by a white BMW at the Taman Pelangi Shell station, about 4km from the Causeway linking Malaysia and Singapore.

Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told reporters on Tuesday that the victim was the leader of a criminal gang and the attack had allegedly stemmed from a turf dispute between two rival groups.

But Malaysian deputy police chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim, in a separate meeting with reporters, said: "We don't want to jump to conclusions, let us investigate first. Based on the information that we have, there's an involvement of money but we don't discount the possibility of it being a triad war."

According to a media report, the victim had 13 previous drug convictions.

The Malay Mail Online news site said the Johor Baru South district police are investigating whether the murder was motivated by a dispute between the attackers and the victim over a drug trade.

On Sunday evening, the victim had stopped at the petrol station to pump his car tyres when he was assaulted by four men who alighted from a white BMW 5-series. He was dragged to the assailants' car but he fought back.

An 82-second video clip of the incident recorded by a bystander shows that during the scuffle, the victim was stabbed and left lying on the ground. Firecrackers were then thrown from the car towards where the victim lay.

The assailants' car circled the petrol station and ran over the man, before reversing and running over him again.

The car then sped out of the station, stopping briefly for one of the assailants to get in before fleeing.

The victim was seen conscious, media reports said, but was believed to have died before help arrived.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 21, 2017, with the headline Police nab two over JB petrol station killing. Subscribe