KOTA BARU: State police have warned the public not to approach a 31-year-old man wanted in connection with the brutal murder of a married couple and their son near Wakaf Mek Zainab on Wednesday.
Kelantan Criminal Investigation Department chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Fakri Che Sulaiman said the suspect, Sharat s/o Eh Wang @ Pot, from Kampung Jubakar Darat, Tumpat, is a dangerous criminal.
“The police advises the public not to act alone if they come across the suspect. If he can kill three people in such a cruel manner, he may do the same to others,” Fakri said during a press conference here, today.
He said initial investigations revealed that the suspect may have crossed the border into Thailand.
Fakri reiterated that the police are seeking assistance from their Thai counterparts to track down the man, who was an employee of the murdered couple.
He said Thai police will deploy its border patrol officers to scan Sungai Golok near Rantau Panjang, which acts as a natural border that separates Malaysia and Thailand.
“Our border patrol police will conduct surveillance along the river. Meanwhile, the Customs Department and other volunteers will conduct checks at nearby towns to look for the suspect,” said Sungai Golok police chief Colonel Prayut Phongsanti.
Police believe that the suspect had murdered his victims at a double-storey house-cum-hardware store in Taman Bahagia here at 2.30pm on Wednesday.
The deceased have been identified as trader Kha Eng Ni, 42; his wife, Chua Joo Seok, 37; and their son, Kha Zee Hanz, 13.
Police also believe the suspect has escaped to Thailand after a Mitsubishi van, believed to be used by the man, was found abandoned
in Rantau Panjang.
The white van, according to police, was left at an area in Rantau Panjang, about 50km from the murder scene.