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PENANG: BLOODY PEARL OF THE ORIENT?

There have been 51 murders in the state involving 33 foreigners over the past 11 months.

Number of Myanmarese: 18.

Media and community groups have speculated that the murders have been perpetrated by Muslims from Myanmar, likely including stateless Rohingya, as payback for religious violence in their home country since 2012.

Myanmar community organisations have told Reuters the majority of the victims were Buddhists.

The police have not revealed the ethnic identity of the victims and have denied that the killing were due to ethnic or religious conflict.

“There are no local suspects. This is a feud between Myanmar people. It is not a religious conflict. These are only vengeful murders that were brought over here from Myanmar,” Abdul Rahim said, without elaborating.

http://news.asiaone.com/news/malaysia/malaysia-arrests-20-probe-widens-murders-myanmar-nationals

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TOP COP, “STAY CALM. THERE ARE 6,200 POLICE PERSONNEL IN PENANG TO ENSURE THAT YOU ARE SAFE.”

Monday’s brutal murder came only a day after Penang police chief Senior Deputy Comm Datuk Wira Abdul Rahim Hanafi gave his assurance that the police had everything under control and urged Penangites to remain calm.

Star

Friday December 12, 2014 MYT 7:29:12 AM

Migrant murders continue

by royce tan

GEORGE TOWN: Cases of foreign workers being murdered in Penang have escalated in the final quarter of this year and show no signs of abating.

From corpses wrapped in blankets to body parts disposed at several locations, the tally of the foreign workers killed now stands at 34, with the latest incident on Monday at the Metropolitan Park in Relau, where an unidentified person, believed to be a foreigner, was knifed to death.

About 20 of them have been identified as Myanmar nationals while the nationalities of the rest remain unknown.

Only a few corpses have been claimed by relatives while the rest, including the unidentified ones are kept at mortuaries.

So far, 11 mutilated body parts have been discovered – two human heads, two headless bodies, four legs, two hands and an arm.
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The Star interviewed several Myanmar nationals, including Rohingyas, and most of them went pale when asked about the murders.

They would reply “Saya tak tahu” (I don’t know) or try to avoid answering the questions.

A Rohingya construction worker who had entered the country illegally, who wished to be known only as Abdul, said he was afraid of other Myanmar nationals in the state.

“Even if there are 10 of us (Rohingyas) and two of them, we will just turn and walk away. It’s better not to bump into them as they’re very violent people,” Abdul claimed.

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/12/12/Migrant-murders-continue-Out-of-34-foreigners-killed-20-are-Myanmar-nationals/

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WANTED!

Mohd Yahyar Khan Mohd Rafie, 42, (UNHCR Card No. 354-43C05627), and two others identified only as Lokman who is in his 20s, and Ali Gemuk in his 30s.

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Star

Friday December 12, 2014 MYT 7:30:41 AM

Cops hunt for suspects believed to be Rohingyas

GEORGE TOWN: Police have launched a manhunt for three suspected killers, believed to be Rohingyas, and the mastermind of an “execution squad” involved in the gruesome murders of Myanmar nationals in Penang this year.

The suspects, reportedly members of an execution group, are Mohd Yahyar Khan Mohd Rafie, 42, (UNHCR Card No. 354-43C05627), and two others identified only as Lokman who is in his 20s, and Ali Gemuk in his 30s.

Mohd Yahyar Khan’s last known address was 3B-01-07, Taman Tun Sardon, Hilir Pemancar in Gelugor.

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/12/12/Cops-hunt-for-suspects-believed-to-be-Rohingyas/

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3:00PM Dec 11, 2014

Top cop upset with Myanmar murder flak

State police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi is rather upset that he was “whacked” in a Malaysiakini report for being slow to respond to the Myanmar murders, which has been happening in Penang since January.

“Cannot-lah like that. There has been arrests,” he said, at a press conference today.

He was referring to a report in Malaysiakini yesterday, which quoted international NGO Altsean-Burma coordinator Debbie Stothard as saying it was  “quite shocking” that the Penang police had not immediately responded to the killings.
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Abdul Rahim tried to allay the fears of Penangites towards the gruesome murders, in which bodies of Myanmar nationals were dismembered and discovered in several different locations in the state.
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Police denied that the murders were related to religious conflicts in Myanmar, citing revenge as motive.

“The police will keep the peace and ensure public order. It is the responsibility of the police, the chief police officer and all of his senior officers to ensure everyone is safe.

“Penang has about 6,200 police personnel working around the clock to ensure this,” he stressed.

Abdul Rahim also  revealed that there may be another group involved in the incidents, although one of them had been hauled up by police.

He said the groups recruited members who are already working in Penang, but are from the same villages or towns in Myanmar.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/283207

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GEORGE TOWN, Malaysia – Police in Malaysia have arrested 20 people in a widening investigation into the murder of at least 18 Myanmar nationals in the northern state of Penang since January.

Twelve Myanmar migrants have confessed to their role in nine of the murders, which have seen bodies dumped – many with their throats slashed – across the state, Penang police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi told reporters on Thursday.

Police now believe two unrelated groups are behind the murders, Abdul Rahim said. All of those arrested are from one group.

http://news.asiaone.com/news/malaysia/malaysia-arrests-20-probe-widens-murders-myanmar-nationals

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It is learnt that the killings have been taking place since January this year but police responded publicly only after English daily The Malay Mail reported on the spate of killings on Sept 18.

Malaysiakini

1:20PM Dec 10, 2014

NGO: Malaysia ‘guilty’ of Myanmar killings

An international Myanmar activist finds it quite shocking that the Penang police have not immediately responded to the killings of Myanmar nationals, which has been taking place since January.

“Is it because they are inefficient, slow to act because it involves migrants and asylum-seekers?” Altsean-Burma coordinator Debbie Stothard asked in an interview with Malaysiakini.

“These murders and the murderers deserve to be condemned and prosecuted,” said Stothard, who is also International Federation for Human Rights secretary-general.

So far 18 Myanmar nationals have been killed, with their body parts dismembered, while police have arrested 17 people in connection with the murders.
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Stothard said migrants and asylum seekers in Malaysia were hardly convinced of the importance of the rule of law due to the way they were treated.

“When people feel they cannot rely on local authorities to protect them from violence and discrimination, it becomes easy to create a vigilante response,” she said.

Malaysia is also guilty of allowing Myanmar to perpetuate “an extreme system of impunity and violence” on its own people, Stothard said.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/283065

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IMAGES AND VIDEO FROM PREVIOUS REPORTS OF BODIES FOUND

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Plainclothes police carrying remains believed to be that of a Myanmar national earlier in 2014 in Penang, Malaysia. In yet another case on Penang island, a man believed to be a foreigner was found with his throat slit and several stab wounds on his body in front of a shrine near a park. — PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

光明日報 Guang Ming Daily

Star: Gruesome task: Policemen investigating the scene of the murder at Jarak Atas, Tasek Gelugor

GEORGE TOWN (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Famed for its old world charm and street food, Penang is now drawing attention for a different reason.

Malay Mail pic

Kwong Wah Yit Poh

Guang Ming Daily

Kwong Wah Yit Poh

Guang Ming Daily

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