Five men suspected of being involved in the murder of a businessman whose body was found floating in Sungai Tanjung Sembrong, Parit Raja, last week have been remanded for another five days.
The suspects, aged between 26 and 40, were ordered to remain in custody until Monday by Magistrate Aimi Nawwar Mohamad Othman at the Magistrate’s Court here today.
The extended remand period, beginning tomorrow, will allow police to complete their investigation and record further statements from the suspects.
All five had previously been remanded for seven days, with their initial detention period ending today before they were brought back to court for the extension.
The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
The victim, aged 39, was discovered floating in the river by members of the public at around 11.30am on August 3.
Initial investigations found that the victim was believed to have been strangled with a rope around his neck before both hands were tied with adhesive tape.
His body was then allegedly wrapped in a net before being taken to the river and dumped into the water.
Adding to the grim discovery, five pieces of rock were found on the victim’s body, believed to have been used to weigh it down and prevent it from resurfacing.
Johor police chief Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said the mystery surrounding the victim’s disappearance since July 29 was eventually solved after his body was found in the river.
“The victim had previously been reported missing in the Mutiara Rini area of Iskandar Puteri. His next of kin later identified him based on the clothing and personal belongings found with the body,” he said.
Police checks also found that two of the five suspects had previous records involving criminal and drug-related offences.
Five mobile phones belonging to the suspects were also seized to assist the investigation.
Police are continuing their probe to establish the motive behind the killing and determine the individual roles allegedly played by each suspect.
