Police have detained a 19-year-old girl to assist investigations into the murder of Siti Nur Surya Ismail at her family home in Kampung Lubuk Batu, Telemong, yesterday.
Hulu Terengganu District Police Chief Deputy Superintendent Mohd Adli Mat Daut said the arrest of the teen, who was a school acquaintance at the 19-year-old victim, occurred after she presented herself with her mother at the Hulu Terengganu Police Station at 8.15am.
He said the suspect was detained based on evidence unearthed at the scene of the incident, as well as from closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage installed at a birdhouse near the victim’s residence.
“This morning, at 7.30am, the suspect came to the Telemong Police Station accompanied by her mother to assist in the investigation.
“However, the woman’s statement was suspicious, apart from the fact that there were several injuries, including bite marks on the victim’s arm and body, and as such was detained for further investigation at 8.15 am,” he said at a press conference at the Hulu Terengganu District Police Station.
He said following the suspect’s arrest, the police conducted a check at the suspect’s house in Kampung Kubang Lab, here, where they found several items which had been taken from the victim’s house, including cash and makeup items.
Adli said before the incident, the suspect was said to have gone to the victim’s house on a motorcycle.
While chatting in the living room, there was a misunderstanding between the two teens, which angered the suspect before it evolved into a fight, he said.
“While struggling, the suspect was said to have taken the kitchen knife which was in the living room before slashing the victim’s left wrist several times, causing it to be severed,” he said.
Adli said the case had since been reclassified as murder from the previous robbery cum murder.
The suspect, who was in Form Six, was detained for investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
She will be taken to the Marang magistrate’s court tomorrow for a remand application.
The victim’s bedridden mother could only watch as the incident unfolded. She is immobile due to brain cancer.
Siti Nur Surya’s body was found sprawled in the living room by her sister, Diana Syuhada Ismail, 15, when she returned from school. – NST
Earlier report: Nov 2, Terengganu Teen Found Stabbed to Death in Living Room