KUALA LUMPUR: A 25-year-old Iraqi man was held on Sunday night in connection with the murder of an African woman who was found dead by a road shoulder on Jalan Memanda 2, near Ampang Point about 12 hour earlier.
Ampang Jaya police chief ACP Mohamad Farouk Eshak said the Iraqi who has refugee status under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was arrested at Ampang Putra near Ampang Jaya here at 11.20pm.
He said a knife believed to be the murder weapon was also recovered.
Mohamad Farouk said the suspect and the 28-year-old victim were colleagues and worked at an Arab restaurant.
He said investigations are ongoing to ascertain what had led to the suspect and victim to be embroiled in a fight which led to the death of the latter.
Mohamad Farouk said police learnt that the African woman had come to Malaysia with her family about nine years ago.
“We managed to solve the case within a day with the arrest of the Iraqi. The suspect is in our custody for the murder investigation under a seven-day remand order,“ he said.
Mohamad Farouk said a post mortem on the victim’s body is ongoing at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital but an initial report revealed that tests showed the woman was positive for Covid-19.
He urged those with information on the case to come forward to assist in the probe.
On Sunday at about 12pm, police were alerted to the murder by a paramedic who had rendered medical aid to the victim who was found by a road shoulder opposite a row of shophouses.
The case was initially thought to have resulted from a snatch theft but investigators discovered that the victim was engaged in a fight with a man prior to being attacked and killed.