Five nabbed over Brickfields shooting in Kuala Lumpur which left one dead, two injured

KUALA LUMPUR: Amid a recent spate of gun-related violence in Malaysia, the authorities have arrested five individuals in connection with a fatal shooting in the Brickfields area of Kuala Lumpur which left one man dead and two others injured.

“Five people were arrested on Jun 16 in the capital, but they have since been released on police bail after their statements were recorded,” Kuala Lumpur Deputy Police Chief Mohamed Usuf Jan Mohamad told local media on Sunday (Jun 22). 

On the night of Jun 13, two gunmen had attacked a group of seven diners who were eating at a restaurant in Jalan Tun Sambanthan in the Brickfields neighbourhood. A man was killed and two others injured, all aged between 30 and 50, reported local media. 

Just four days later, another fatal shooting took place outside Cheras shopping mall, where two men were shot dead. 

Subscribe to CNA’s Morning Brief

An automated curation of our top stories to start your day.

This service is not intended for persons residing in the E.U. By clicking subscribe, I agree to receive news updates and promotional material from Mediacorp and Mediacorp’s partners.

Loading

Several individuals believed to be involved in the incident had fled the scene in a vehicle, reported Berita Harian. 

“As for the case in Cheras, no arrests have been made yet and efforts are ongoing to identify the suspects,” Mohamed Usof was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times. 

The deputy police chief said that early investigations found that both incidents in Cheras and Brickfields were believed to have resulted from clashes between groups believed to be active in secret society activities. 

“Based on background checks on both sets of victims, investigations point to conflicts between groups linked to such (secret society) activities,” he told the media. 

"However, whether the suspects were hired or not has yet to be determined. Investigations are ongoing, and efforts to track down all suspects are being carried out actively.”

According to Mohamed Usof, a total of 18 witnesses have been summoned in connection with the Brickfields incident while 20 have been called to assist in the investigation of the shooting in Cheras.

No details of the five people arrested were available.

In the most recent fatal shooting incident on Friday, a 46-year-old man was shot dead in Meru, Selangor, with Malaysian police investigating a possible link to organised crime. 

The shooting happened outside a motorcycle shop in Taman Meru Utama, located in the Klang district. 

Klang Utara district police chief S Vijaya told local news agency Bernama that a 46-year-old local man was found “slumped in the driver’s seat of a four-wheel-drive vehicle covered in blood”.

The victim was confirmed dead on the scene and his body was sent to Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital for a post-mortem, VIjaya added. 

The case is investigated for murder. Authorities said they are examining closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage and taking witness statements, with investigators also not ruling out the involvement of a secret society.

Kuala Lumpur’s police chief earlier has assured the public that the city remains safe, noting that the Cheras and Brickfield cases were likely driven by internal disputes between the suspects and victims. He added that the two shootings are unlikely to be related.