Police to submit Sosilawati murder report to A-G next week

KUALA LUMPUR, Friday 17 September 2010 (Bernama) -- Police are expected to submit their report on the murders of cosmetics queen Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others to the Attorney-General's Chambers next week, Bukit Aman CID chief Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin said.

Saying police were confident that they had gathered "strong evidence" to bring the suspects to justice, he said, police also believed they had solved the case.

"We are confident that we have a strong case," he told reporters at the Dang Wangi police headquarters here today.

He said the results of DNA tests on bone fragments found at the scene where the four were reported to have been murdered were expected to be known in four days.

"The bones were sent to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital yesterday," he said, adding that the tests would establish if the bones were those of Sosilawati and the other three victims.

Sosilawati, 47, CIMB Bank officer Noorhisham Mohammad, 38, driver Kamaruddin Shamsudin, 44, and lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, were reported missing on Aug 30 after leaving for Banting over a land deal.

Police confirmed that they were brutally murdered before their bodies were burnt and the ashes thrown into rivers near Ladang Gadong, Tanjung Sepat, near Banting.

Mohd Bakri said police ceased operations to gather evidence at the Ladang Gadong farm and Sungai Panchau from today but would still be guarding the place and that the area was still off limit to the public.

"We will resume operations if there is a necessity to do so," he said, adding that police had recovered a knife and a cricket bat believed to be the weapons used in the murders.

Mohd Bakri said two special teams had been set up to investigate the murders as well as three previous missing person reports and the murder of a women.

He said that the investigations into the murders of Sosilawati and her three friends were headed by Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Ku Chin Wah while the team investigating into the three missing persons and the woman's murder was headed by deputy CID chief (intelligence and operation) Datuk Hadi Ho Abdullah.

"We have identified the suspects in the four cases. The three individuals had gone missing after meeting the main suspect while the woman was stabbed to death in front of her house last year.

"We are not ruling out the possibility that the three missing persons have been murdered," he said.

He also reiterated his reminder to the media not to go overboard in reporting the case by publishing reports based on speculation or unverified information.

Mohd Bakri said that there were too many reports quoting sources which contradicted one another which, he said, could cause the reporters or editors to be called in to explain their reports when the case was up for trial in court.

"Claims like the victims' throats were slit, that 17 people might have been murdered, that the victims were lured with cheque, and that rivers were filled with hundreds of bone fragments and various other reports are based on speculations and not a reflection of the actual incident.

"Don't speculate because it will affect police investigations. The thing is, based on the confession by the suspects, Sosilawati and her three friends had been tied, beaten and stabbed to death before their bodies were burnt and ashes thrown into the river," he said.

He also said that only eight suspects were arrested so far, including two lawyers.

Mohd Bakri also revealed that workers for the lawyer were said to be obsessed with their employer and that some had been working with the suspect for 15 years.

"The main suspect has never been conferred with a Datuk title and his assets have been frozen. The suspect had not asked for any ransom from the victims' families," he said.

Police had also taken statements from the victims' family members as well as samples for DNA tests, he added.

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