Ketereh murder probe widens: Four suspects now held over college student found with 61 stab wounds

KOTA BHARU, May 2 — Police have detained two more suspects to help with the probe into the discovery of a 19-year-old woman’s body with 61 stab wounds near paddy fields in Kampung Simah, Ketereh, early yesterday morning.

This brings the total number of suspects in the case to four.

Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat said a team from the Kelantan Contingent Police Headquarters’ Criminal Investigation Department, working with Kota Bharu district police headquarters, launched a raid from 4.40 pm yesterday until 2.30 am today.

He said the raid targeted two separate locations, Taman Murni on Jalan Abdul Kadir Adabi and Kampung Belukar Luas in Ketereh.

“The raid resulted in the arrest of three men aged 19 to 66 and a 60-year-old woman.

“All those arrested had no prior criminal records, and their urine tests came back negative for drugs,” he said in a statement today.

During the operation, police also seized a knife believed to have been used in the incident, along with two cars, two mobile phones, a set of clothing and a pair of slippers, among other things.

He said police will apply for a remand order at Kota Bharu Court, while the investigation continues to finalise the case papers.

“The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder. If convicted, offenders face the death penalty or 30 to 40 years in jail plus at least 12 strokes of the cane,” he said.

Regarding the discovery of the victim’s body, Mohd Yusoff said his team received information about it at 12.35 am on May 1.

He said the victim was confirmed dead at the scene, with the body later sent to the Forensic Department at Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital here for further processing.

“The post-mortem at 9.30 am yesterday confirmed the victim died from multiple stab wounds to the chest,” he said. — Bernama