MELAKA: Police have tracked down a murder suspect at a foreign workers’ hostel in Selangor after the plantation worker bludgeoned his elderly employer to death with a hammer.

       Melaka Tengah OCPD Asst Comm Christopher Patit said the 25-year-old suspect, an Indonesian, was hiding at his friend’s hostel in Bandar Sultan Sulaiman, Port Klang.

       “The suspect was detained today after a brief struggle at the hostel where his friend, also an Indonesian, was staying,” he said yesterday.

       ACP Christopher said the suspect fled after killing a 72-year- old smallholder, identified as Ong Kok Kim, at an oil palm plantation in Lorong Sidang Haji Ahmad, Paya Rumput here, at 12.30pm on Dec 22.

       The victim’s body was discovered a few days later at a makeshift office, inside the secluded plantation, before a report was lodged at the Sungai Udang police station on Dec 27.

       ACP Christopher said the suspect took the victim’s pick-up truck but the vehicle ran out of fuel in Rembau, Negri Sembilan.

       “He then used an ehailing taxi service to get to the Tampin bus station where he took an express bus to Port Klang,” he said.

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       The suspect also stole items from the victim, including a handphone. Police recovered the victim’s wallet and pick-up truck key when the arrest was made.

       The handphone had been sold and was recovered from a telecommunication outlet in Bukit Rambai here.

       ACP Christopher said the suspect told the police that he was agitated with his employer for scolding him for not completing his task.

       He said the suspect apparently wanted to teach his employer a lesson before bludgeoning him to death.

       The suspect has been remanded for seven days under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.