Four Men Charged With Murder of Johor Entrepreneur Low Kai Xian

BATU PAHAT, Aug 17 — Four men were charged in the Magistrate’s Court here today over the murder of a 39-year-old entrepreneur whose body was discovered floating in a river wrapped in a net earlier this month.

The accused — S. Yogesvaran, 40, Lin Yong Ming, 26, N. Achutan, 32, and How Han Wei, 33 — were brought before Magistrate Mustaqim Sukarno. No plea was recorded from the four accused as murder charges fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the High Court and are non-bailable.

According to the charge sheet, the four men are accused of murdering Low Kai Xian, 39, between 2:35 p.m. on July 29 at Jalan Emas Putih 2, Taman Sri Skudai, Johor Bahru, and 12:30 p.m. on August 3 at Sungai Tanjung Sembrong, Batu Pahat.

The charge was framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same Act, which provides for the death penalty or a prison term of up to 40 years, and not less than 12 strokes of the cane if the death penalty is not imposed.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Shahzleen Ibrahim conducted the prosecution. Defense lawyer S. Sean Dodley represented Achutan, while lawyer Datin Freda Sabapathi represented Yogesvaran, Lin, and How.

Magistrate Mustaqim set October 14 for case mention to await the post-mortem report, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) results, closed-circuit television (CCTV) evidence, and telephone forensic reports.

Police had previously arrested five suspects following the discovery of the victim’s body floating in Sungai Tanjung Sembrong, Parit Raja, near here. Initial investigations revealed that the victim was believed to have been strangled with a rope before being loaded into a vehicle, his hands tied with duct tape, and his body wrapped in a net. Five heavy stones were attached to the body, which police believe were intended to drown the victim.

Low had been reported missing by his wife on July 29, after his family located only his abandoned vehicle in Johor Bahru.

–NMT