Kedah police: Motorcycle theft allegation believed to have led to teen’s torture death

ALOR SETAR, Oct 12 — An allegation that an 18-year-old youth had stolen a motorcycle is believed to have prompted a group of suspects to torture him before his body was found by the roadside in Jalan Harvard, Gurun, last Thursday.

Kedah police chief Datuk Adzli Abu Shah said police received information about the discovery of the body at 8.05am on October 8, while a post-mortem found that the victim had died from blunt force trauma to the head.

He said the suspects were believed to have acted out of anger after receiving complaints from local residents that the victim had stolen a motorcycle.

“The victim was caught in Pendang on October 5 before being taken to the house of one of the suspects, where he was detained for two days, tortured and beaten, and had his hair cut,” he told reporters at the Kedah Contingent Police Headquarters here today.

Adzli said the victim was found dead inside the house on the night of October 7, and his body was subsequently dumped by the roadside.

He said police arrested 14 men aged between 16 and 24 in operations around Gurun and Guar Chempedak from noon to 8.30pm on October 8, a few hours after the body was discovered.

Police seized 14 mobile phones, a Honda City, scissors and the victim’s identity card. Twelve suspects have been remanded for six days until Wednesday, while two underage suspects have been remanded until tomorrow. The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

The victim, identified as Muhammad Haikal Mohd Shahrilnizam, 18, was found wearing yellow and black sportswear and had injuries to his head and face. He was initially found without identification documents.

In a separate case, Adzli said police were tracking down two men to assist in investigations into an attempted murder and obstructing police officers from carrying out their duties during Ops Pintas, an operation against migrant smuggling at the Hutan Kampung Toll Plaza here on October 7.

He said police had intercepted a Proton X70 SUV suspected of carrying five migrants, but the driver allegedly acted aggressively, attempted to run over a police officer and crashed into the toll barrier.

“Police fired one shot at the tyre, but the suspect fled and abandoned the vehicle in Pendang, about 28.3 kilometres from the scene,” he said.

Adzli said several individuals had been detained, while police were seeking Muhammad Raffi Yusrino, 28, and Zulfikrie Naaim Morhinino, 36, to assist in the investigation. — Bernama