Father, son arrested in connection with brutal dismemberment of woman in Sepanggar

KOTA KINABALU (Feb 13): Police have arrested a father and son in connection with the brutal murder of a woman whose body was dismembered into seven parts and dumped at multiple locations in Indah Permai, Sepanggar, last Thursday.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jauteh Dikun said the 70-year-old father was arrested at about 8.10pm on the same day at the Emergency Unit of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu, while his 19-year-old son was taken into custody at Taman Seri Maju Apartment around 10.30pm.

The 44-year-old victim was an IMM13 card holder, identifying her as a Filipino citizen with refugee status in Sabah and Labuan.

Based on police investigations, the motive behind the killing stemmed from the suspect’s dissatisfaction with his fiancée, including the use of money during their engagement, before the victim eventually married someone else.

“We believe that the motive for this murder case is more of jealousy and dissatisfaction by the suspect towards the deceased.

“The suspect and the deceased were engaged, but during the engagement, the victim used the suspect’s money, about RM7,000, but they did not get married.

“The victim however married someone else which made the suspect jealous of what was happening in their relationship, which led to the argument and the murder,” he said when met at the Sabah Contingent Headquarters (IPK) here.

He added that the victim had gone to the suspect’s house as they were still in contact.

“Police believed the suspect used a sharp weapon, namely a machete.

“So far, the suspect has admitted to the crime while the second suspect, who is the suspect’s son, who was at the scene during the incident.

“According to police information, the son was outside while the argument took place inside the house,” said Jauteh, adding that the second suspect was detained to facilitate police investigation.

The arrests were made in less than 24 hours after a garbage truck worker discovered the dismembered body parts of the victim at about 6.30am on Feb 12.

Police said the suspect was identified based on clues obtained during the examination of the victim’s body, after the discovery of the head and torso at a disposal point near a supermarket in Indah Permai, following the initial discovery of the victim’s hands and leg at a separate dump site.