By P Prem Kumar
KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysian authorities have officially linked the murders of 23 Myanmar nationals to the ongoing sectarian strife in Myanmar following the arrests of seven suspects, police said Monday.
Penang Malaysian Police Chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi told The Anadolu Agency that ethnic tension between Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar lay at the root of the brutal slayings. Police had previously denied such a link.
The killings all occurred in Penang state over the last 11 months and involved Myanmar nationals aged between 20 and 40. Most victims were found at isolated spots, without documents and with their throats cut. The bodies, some of which showed signs of torture, were identified by friends or relatives.
In a telephone interview, Hanafi told AA: “The prime suspect was a Muslim. He claims that his family was brutally murdered in Myanmar before he came to Malaysia. Through him, we arrested another six [other] Myanmar Muslims.”
Since 2012, hundreds of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims, recognized as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities by the UN, have been slain and 140,000 made homeless in sectarian violence perpetrated by Buddhist extremists in Rakhine state.
Many have been forced into squalid camps or paid huge sums to traffickers to flee Myanmar for Thailand, Malaysia or Australia.
The Malay Mail reported Monday that the main suspect had confessed to three murders. The newspaper cited a police source as saying the man was a Muslim from Rakhine state in Myanmar.
Hanafi called for patience during the investigation as police look into potential connections between the suspects and the victims.
“I hope the public do not speculate as the police are doing all they can to ensure justice prevails,” he said.
www.aa.com.tr/en
