JOHOR BARU: Two suspects in a gruesome murder at the Taman Pelangi petrol station here were charged at the Johor Baru magistrate’s court on Thursday.
Yip Kah Hou, 24 and Gan Jia Ji, 20, arrived at the court in civilian attire at around 8.45am before the case proceeding began at around 9.30am.
As this is a murder case under Section 302 of the Penal Code, no plea was recorded in court.
The charge on Yip read that he and Gan, together with three others still at large, had allegedly abetted the murder of Tan Aik Chai, 44, at a petrol station at Jalan Sri Pelangi here at 7.30pm on Dec 17.
His charge was read together with Section 109 of the Penal Code for abetting a crime.
Meanwhile, Gan was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code with five others who are still at large for allegedly murdering Tan at the same time and place.
Prosecuting the case is deputy public prosecutor Muhamad Syafiq Mohd Ghazali, while Yip, who is a restaurant helper, is represented by lawyer Chuah Shyue Chien.
Gan was unrepresented.
Magistrate Hajar Mohd Ali fixed Feb 13 for mention and the submission of a forensic report.
The case’s investigation is still ongoing, as police are still searching for nine other suspects.
Fifteen individuals were previously detained to facilitate investigations, but 13 have since been released.
The incident went viral on the internet when video of the grisly crime was posted on social media.
The footage showed Tan in a scuffle with four men who had tried to drag him into their BMW car. Tan had made a stop at the petrol station to inflate his car tyres.
Tan’s Vietnamese wife was inside their Volkswagen at the time of the attack, but had fled to safety when the fight between her husband and the four attackers escalated.
Tan suffered internal injuries when one of the suspects stabbed him during the fight.
He was also run over twice by the suspects’ BMW as they made their escape.