Cops arrest suspect in murder of 11-year-old boy

LAHAD DATU - A man suspected of killing an 11-year-old boy at a workers’ quarters at Felda Sahabat 30, near here, has been arrested this morning.

The 35-year old suspect who is a foreigner was arrested by the Felda auxiliary police at Block 12 of the FGV PM Sahabat 41 area at around 7am.

Lahad Datu district police chief Assistant Commissioner Rohan Shah Ahmad said following the murder incident, auxiliary police patrols in the area were intensified.

"The suspect was subsequently detected under suspicious circumstances in the area and a team of police personnel from the Lahad Datu District Police Headquarters (IPD) arrested him.

"The location where the suspect was apprehended is approximately two kilometres away from the murder scene," he said when contacted today.

He added that the machete allegedly used by the suspect in the incident was also successfully located with the assistance of the Lahad Datu IPD K9 unit tracking dogs.

"As a result of the investigation conducted, the suspect revealed the location where he had hidden the weapon used in the case.

"The police then seized a 58-centimetre machete found about 500 metres away from the location where the suspect was apprehended," he said.

Rohan said with the arrest of the suspect and the weapon seized, the police believed that the case was resolved.

"The suspect will be brought to the Lahad Datu Court tomorrow for a remand application to complete the investigation," he said.

Yesterday, it was reported that a boy was found dead after being attacked by his stepfather's friend.

The body was found in the workers' quarters' front yard covered in blood with wounds on the head, neck and a severed left hand.