Alleged mastermind behind JB petrol station murder arrested in Thailand, faces extradition to Malaysia

The alleged mastermind behind the murder of a man at a petrol station in Johor Bahru on December 17 2017, was arrested by the police in the  Chaiyaphum province of Thailand at about 7am on Tuesday (May 29).

The suspect, a man in his 40s, sports a tattoo on his right arm, and has been on the run for months.

A video of the gruesome murder had circulated on social media, which shows the victim known as “Ah Chiu” getting stabbed and run over by a car twice within the compound of a Shell petrol station at  Jalan Sri Pelangi in Taman Pelangi.

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He was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene.

The Straits Times compiled a sequence of events that took place on the day of the incident.

• The victim had first parked his Volkswagen Polo at the petrol station so he could check the tyre

• He was then dragged out of the Volkswagen by four men and thrown into a white BMW

• When he resisted, the victim was stabbed in the chest and collapsed to the ground

• One of the men then threw some firecrackers at him, and some of the men got in the BMW

• The BMW circled the station and returned to hit the victim

• The driver then reversed to run him over again before fleeing

• The group stopped the BMW briefly to allow one of them to get into the car

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Since the incident, a total of 15 suspects were arrested, and two men — 20-year-old Gan Jia Yi and 24-year-old Yip Kan Hoi — were charged with murder on January 11, 2018. 

In an interview in January, Bukit Aman's Criminal Investigation Department chief Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Najmuddin Mohd had revealed that several suspects alleged to be involved in the murder had gone into hiding in Thailand. 

With regard to the latest arrest, the Royal Malaysian Police assistant liaison officer in Thailand Supt Ridzuan Abdul Aziz told local media:

“The man is the most sought after suspect in the murder case. He is the alleged mastermind.”

He added that the rest came after a request for assistance from the Malaysian authorities filed a few months ago.

The suspect currently faces extradition to Malaysia.