KULIM - Family members of a woman stabbed 13 times to death by her husband at a house in Taman Tiram here on Monday say they had no idea she was facing any problems in her five-year marriage.
The victim's aunt, D. Kodimalar, 42, said the family believed the couple was happy, as the victim, S. Sila, 39, never showed or spoke of any problems she was facing.
"We didn't know if they had a crisis because they seemed happy.
"If she had told us from the start, we would certainly have stepped in to help and saved her from what happened," she said when met at the Forensic Department of Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital (HSB) here on Tuesday.
Another family member, who declined to be named, said she was deeply shocked, as the suspect was known to be friendly, devoted to his wife and child and did not smoke.
"We're truly saddened by what happened. We raised the victim from childhood and now that she's gone, we'll raise her child the same way," she said.
It was reported on Monday that a woman had died, believed to have been stabbed 13 times by her husband, at a house in Taman Tiram, Kulim, at 8.30pm.
Kulim district police chief Superintendent Syamsul Sinring said the 43-year-old man admitted to stabbing his 39-year-old wife seven times in the chest, five times in the stomach and once in the right side, using a folding knife.
Kodimalar said the family learnt of the incident after the suspect's younger sibling informed them that the couple's three-year-old son had been handed over to her, along with the house keys.
She said family members rushed to the victim's house, arriving at around 8.30pm and had to break the door down as they were unable to get in.
"When the bedroom door was opened, I saw her lying on the bed, covered in blood.
"She had stab wounds from her chest down to her navel," she said.
She said the victim was taken to hospital for treatment and her pulse was still detectable at the time.
Doctors told her that although a pulse was present when the victim reached the emergency unit, her heart had already stopped functioning.
"The hospital tried to give her breathing support and blood, but she was pronounced dead due to severe injuries all over her body," she said.
Kodimalar added that she last saw the victim in August and that Sila was known as someone brave and well-loved by her family.
She said the family could only accept what had happened and ensure her funeral arrangements were carried out as smoothly as possible.
"Her body will be brought home for burial in her hometown of Kampung Manis, Perai, Penang, where she grew up," she said.