JB petrol station murder: SPF helps to nab 7 suspects in Singapore

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) helped to nab seven suspects in Singapore in connection with the brutal murder at the Johor Bahru petrol station.

In a media statement, SPF confirms that they received a request for assistance from Royal Malaysian Police (RMP).

SPF also stated that the seven suspects who were picked up in Singapore and detained were Malaysians aged between 19 to 23 years old.

All seven suspects have since been handed over to RMP to aid in investigations.

"It is inappropriate to comment further as investigations by RMP are ongoing," added SPF.

According to The Straits Times, Malaysian police chief Khalil Kader Mohd said that another four men were nabbed during a special operation in Johor in the wee hours of Thursday. (Dec 21)

Datuk Khalil also said that police are tracking down several other individuals.

This brings the total number of suspects who have been detained to 13.

The first two arrests were made on Dec 20, where a 19-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman were arrested.

When asked if the man in the first arrest was one of the assailants in Sunday's attack, Mr Khalil declined to comment.

"Surely when we detained someone, we know that he or she is able to facilitate our investigations. In this case... we do not discount the possibility. Whether they have a direct or indirect involvement, I cannot comment. We just know they have something that they can tell us. Let us investigate first," he said.

The Star newspaper reported that magistrate Noor Aisyah Ahmad has granted a seven-day remand order for the six suspects - five men in their 20s and a 19-year-old woman - when they were brought to a Malaysia court on Thursday.

On Dec 17, the violent killing of the man shocked netizens. 44-year-old Tan Ah Choy was pumping his tyres at a Shell petrol station when he was assaulted by four men. He was stabbed and run over by a BMW twice.

A video of the incident went viral on social media, where onlookers could also be heard shouting, "Bomb, bomb!" as one of the men threw a firecracker at the man.

It was later revealed that the victim was allegedly a gang leader and that the dispute could be due to a turf war between the two underworld gangs.