KOTA TINGGI - Two local men and a foreign woman were fatally shot at a restaurant here on Sunday.
Johor police chief Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said the victims, aged 37 to 63, are believed to have been shot with a shotgun and were pronounced dead at the scene.
"The District Control Centre (DCC) received word of the incident at around 1.30pm and, acting on the information, we detained a 71-year-old local man about 200 metres from the scene at 2pm,” he said in a statement.
Rahaman said police also seized a Benelli M/Super firearm, believed to have been used in the shooting and found that the suspect had no prior criminal record.
He said the suspect, a farmer, has agricultural land that qualifies him for a firearms licence issued by the Royal Malaysia Police to protect crops from pests and other threats.
The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
Rahaman said the motive is still being investigated, and initial findings show the case does not appear to involve gang activity or terrorism, although police are not ruling out the possibility that it stemmed from a personal debt dispute.
"An application for remand against the suspect will be made at the Magistrates’ Court here tomorrow, and the public is reminded not to speculate in a way that could disrupt the investigation,” he said.
Earlier, a five-second video of the incident went viral on Facebook. - BERNAMA