KUALA LUMPUR: "I saw one of the suspects dragged the victim behind the house," said a witness to yesterday's murder case in Kampung Sungai Choh, Rawang.
In his 30s, Ismail said he heard sounds of a fight from the suspects' house early in the morning but ignored it, claiming that his neighbours often quarrelled.
"They have been living here for quite a while. The villagers know the suspects' family but don't interfere with their affairs," he said when met at the scene today.
He said as the commotion continued, he decided to check on his neighbours and saw the injured victim.
"I saw them beating the victim, and one of the male suspects invited me to join in hitting the victim.
"I don't know the victim. We have never seen him here. Perhaps he is an outsider because we know all the suspects' siblings here," he said.
Another neighbour, who wanted to be known only as Fir, said he also heard a commotion from the residence since morning but considered it a usual family dispute.
The 35-year-old said as he was resting in front of his house after returning from work, he saw one of the suspects riding a motorcycle with a hoe and shovel around 5pm.
"I returned from work around 4:30 pm, and then I sat in front of the house and saw the suspect's sister riding a motorcycle with a hoe.
"Usually, she would greet 'bossku' like that, but this time she just went by without saying anything. But, I didn't suspect anything," he said.
He said shortly after, one of his neighbours told him that the victim had been severely beaten to near death in the back alley of the suspects' house.
"I went to the house to calm the situation, but when I arrived, everything was quiet.
"Before we could report the incident, police were already at the scene following a report from one of the suspects' wives.
He said the victim's body was buried in a shallow hole dug in the bushes about 50 meters from the suspects' house.
"We were all shocked by this incident and did not expect them to do such a thing.
"This is the first time such an incident has happened here.
"This place is always safe and quiet because there are not many residents on this plot of land," he said.
It was reported that police had arrested two men and a woman suspected to be involved in the murder following a dispute between siblings
Acting Gombak district police chief Superintendent Noor Ariffin Mohamad Nasir, in a statement, said the suspects arrested are 29, 32, and 33 years old, respectively.
He said the initial investigation found that the victim was the boyfriend of one of the suspect's sisters and that the motive of the incident stemmed from a dispute between the victim and one of the suspects.