KOTA KINABALU: A man was found dead believed to have been beaten with a hard object by a man suspected of stealing electrical cables in an open area in front of an abandoned office in Kingfisher, here, at midnight yesterday.
The 50-year-old victim was found lying down and covered in blood by his friend at about 12 midnight.
Kota Kinabalu District Police Chief, Assistant Commissioner Mohd Zaidi Abdullah, said the initial investigation found that before the incident, the victim was said to have left the house at 10.30pm to check the electrical fuse at the scene after the electricity supply at the victim's shared house was cut off.
He said, an hour later, the victim's friend and his son also went to the scene to check on the power outage.
"During the inspection, the victim's friend heard the sound of a dog barking and checked the surrounding situation before finding a person lying down and unconscious with blood stains.
"Then the man involved immediately called his friend (the deceased) who worked at the location and was shocked when the sound of the mobile phone ringing next to the man who was lying down.
"Realizing that it was his friend, the man contacted the police for further action," he said when contacted today.
Mohd Zaidi said, further investigation at the location with the help of the Forensic Unit of the Sabah Police Contingent Headquarters (IPK) found that the victim had swelling in the eyes and bruises on the forehead and is suspected to have been hit with a hard object.
"Police also found a finger joint wood suspected to have been used by the suspect to attack the victim.
"Further investigation in the fuse room not far from the body of the location found that the electrical cable was cut and is suspected to have been stolen by an unknown suspect," he said.
He said the initial investigation found that the suspect who was stealing the cable in the fuse room then attacked the victim using the wood after realizing the victim's presence in the room before fleeing.
"However, the investigation is still ongoing and efforts to identify the suspect are underway. The victim's body was sent to the Queen Elizabeth I Hospital Forensic Department (HQE I) for an autopsy.
"The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder and people with information on the incident are asked to contact the police to assist in the investigation," he said.
