Well-known Malaysia, Penang dealer murdered

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Nation

Wednesday April 26, 2006

 

 

Penang shopkeeper was strangled to death

 

PENANG: The 48-year-old man found dead inside his shop in Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling on Monday was strangled to death.

 

A post mortem by forensic pathologist Dr Bhupinder Singh showed that the suspect used his hands to throttle Leong Chin Meng’s so hard that the hyoid bone of his neck fractured.

 

 

Leong: Sister said he was too honest to be in the stamp and coin business

Leong, who operated a shop selling stamps and coins, was beaten unconscious before he was bound with cellophane tape.

 

His lip was cut and there were bruises around his eyes, showing that he had been repeatedly punched. The right side of his skull was fractured.

 

His head had hit the edge of a staircase when he fell.

 

The deceased’s sister, 46, who declined to be named, said her brother was too honest to be in this line of business and she had asked him to quit numerous times.

 

“When I returned home at 3.10pm that day, I saw a customer sitting behind the counter but my brother was not around. I became suspicious as he looked like he was about to force open the counter.

 

“I then asked him where my brother was and he told me he was in the toilet. Before going to look for my brother, I asked my neighbour, a money-changer, to ensure that he does not leave.

 

“I almost fainted when I went to the back and saw my brother tied up and lying face down. He was also bleeding from the head,” she said when met at the Penang Hospital mortuary yesterday.

 

She said she then ran out but the man, known to her as Simon, had already left the premises on his motorcycle.

 

“I asked my neighbour why he allowed the man to leave and he said there was nothing he could do as he could not hold him against his will.

 

 

GRUESOME EVIDENCE: A plainclothes policeman showing the bloodstained shirt belonging to Leong who was murdered in his shop in Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling, Penang, on Monday.

“I have seen my brother dealing with this man numerous times. He had no reason to be suspicious of the man as they had been doing business for the past three years,” she said, adding that her brother had taken over the business when their father passed away a few years ago.

 

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Hamzah Md Jamil said police have identified the 32-year-old man in the shop and that he should turn himself in to help in their investigation.

 

He added that the case had been classified as murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the mandatory death sentence.

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Nation

Tuesday April 25, 2006

 

 

Shopkeeper found dead

 

PENANG: A 48-year-old man was tied up before being beaten to death by a customer inside his shop in Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling here.

 

Leong Chin Meng, who operated a shop selling stamps and coins, was found face down by his sister, a teacher aged 46, when she returned home at about 3.30pm yesterday.

 

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Hamzah Md Jamil said the sister was about to unlock the door grille when she saw a man, who was known to her sitting inside.

 

“She asked him what he was doing and he said that he was there to see his brother.

 

“The man seemed sweaty and nervous, according to the woman when interviewed by police,” he said.

 

 

UNTIMELY END: Policemen carrying Leong’s body into a police truck in Penang yesterday.

ACP Hamzah said the woman got a shock when she found her brother lying face down and bleeding from the head at the back of the shop.

 

“The brother's feet and hands were tied up with cellophane tape and his face was covered with a t-shirt.

 

“She ran out of the premises and alerted a neighbouring moneychanger and a police team was immediately dispatched to the scene,” he said when met at the scene.

 

He urged the suspect, in his late 30s, to surrender to the police.

 

ACP Hamzah said the motive had yet to be determined but robbery had not been ruled out. Those with information can call the police's 24-hour hotlines at 04-2691999/2282222.

 

Initial checks by forensic pathologist Dr Bhupinder Singh showed that Leong either died of internal injuries caused by the beating or suffocation.

 

A post mortem will be conducted by Dr Bhupinder at the Penang Hospital mortuary today to determine the actual cause of death.

 

A neighbouring shop owner, who declined to be named, said Leong took over his father's business when the elder Leong passed away a few years back.

 

“He was not married and his sister, a spinster, stayed with him,” he said.