Seven detained for brutal murders of Myanmar nationals

State police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi confirmed seven Myanmar nationals were detained to assist investigations. — Picture by K.E. OoiGEORGE TOWN, Dec 1 — Communal clashes has been identified as the reason behind the savage killings of 23 Myanmar nationals in Penang over the past 11 months.

This follows the arrest of seven suspects linked to the slayings last week, as one of the main suspect had admitted to killing three of his countrymen following ethnic tensions between Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar.

A police source close to the investigations said the main suspect, a Muslim from the Arakan district in Myanmar, was arrested by a special police task force headed by Bukit Aman early last week.

It is learnt the suspect confessed he had a hand in the killings and had later led to the arrest of six other suspects.

"The main suspect said six of his family members were killed during communal clashes in his home state a year ago. We are now piecing the connection between all 23 cases to see if they were linked," the source said.

The task force from Bukit Aman, formed three months ago, had earlier faced problems due to the language barrier.

Police had only managed to seize several weapons — mainly knives — from the crime scenes.

Sources close to the investigations said police managed to track down the six other individuals based on the phone logs of the main suspect.

"The root of the killings has been identified and we hope to wrap up investigations in the next few weeks," he said.

State police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi confirmed seven Myanmar nationals were detained to assist investigations. 

He described the arrests as a "positive breakthrough" following the recent spike of killings involving foreigners in Penang.

"So far, they have been very cooperative. We have had some developments regarding the suspects," he said, adding police are still investigating the case and advised the public not to speculate.

In September, Malay Mail reported the flashpoint of the killings was in Seberang Prai and that Rohingya Muslims from the western Rakhine state were the main suspects.

Most of the victims were males aged between 20 and 40 and were abducted from their homes, murdered elsewhere and dumped in isolated areas, including plantations. 

The victims were found without documents and were identified by their colleagues and friends.

http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/seven-detained-for-brutal-murders-of-myanmar-nationals/