A 19-year-old man found dead beside bushes along Jalan Harvard-Gurun in Kedah is suspected to have been detained and tortured for two days before his death, police said.
Kedah police chief Datuk Adzli Abu Shah said the victim’s body was allegedly dumped by the roadside after he died and was discovered by a member of the public at around 8am on October 8.
Following investigations, police arrested 14 local men aged between 16 and 24, including two minors, in raids around Gurun and Guar Chempedak.
Adzli said the victim had been accused by the group of stealing a motorcycle, although no police report had been lodged over the alleged theft.
“The suspects conducted their own investigation before apprehending the victim in Pendang on October 5. He was then taken to the home of one of the suspects in Gurun and detained for two days.
“During that period, the victim was beaten, tortured and had his hair cut. On the night of October 7, he was found dead before his body was cruelly dumped beside the road. It was discovered at around 8am the following morning,” he said at a press conference at the Kedah Police Contingent Headquarters on Monday.
Police seized 14 mobile phones of various brands, a Honda City, a pair of scissors and the victim’s identity card during the investigation.
All 14 suspects have been remanded for six days until October 14, while the two minors have been remanded for three days to assist with investigations.
Adzli said only one of the suspects had a previous record involving a drug-related offence.
A post-mortem found that the cause of death was consistent with multiple injuries caused by blunt force trauma.
He also thanked members of the public whose information helped police investigate the murder.
Adzli urged the public to report cases of theft or robbery to the police rather than taking matters into their own hands.
“Members of the public may assist in detaining suspects in certain circumstances, but their actions must not go beyond the limits and lead to incidents such as this,” he said.
Earlier, reports said the victim’s mother, 41-year-old Azura Zor, had been shocked to learn of her eldest son’s death. Muhammad Haikal Mohd Shahrilnizam, the eldest of four siblings, had reportedly been unreachable for about a month before his body was found.
The discovery was initially reported as the body of an unidentified man wearing black and yellow sportswear, with police later working to establish his identity.
