Prime suspect of JB killing is under remand: Police (Updated)

JOHOR BARU: Police have identified the prime suspect involved in the stabbing and murder of a 44-year-old man at the Jalan Sri Pelangi petrol station in Taman Pelangi here last month.
Johor police chief Commissioner Datuk Mohd Khalil Kader Mohd said police have yet to locate the knife used by the suspect who is in his 20's. It is said to have been discarded along the road to Desaru in Kota Tinggi.
He said so far, 14 suspects have been detained during the course of the investigation, with 11 having been released, while three are still on remand.
They were arrested in Penang, Singapore and here.
"Preliminary investigations revealed that one of the three suspects on remand is the prime suspect in the case.
"We believe the knife had been disposed of somewhere along the Desaru to Kota Tinggi road," Mohd Khalil told reporters at the handing over of duties ceremony between outgoing Johor police CID chief SAC Datuk Azman Ayob and his successor, SAC Kamaluddin Kassim, the former Malacca police CID chief.
He said investigations also found that the prime suspect and the two others in custody were believed to have also been actively involved in several earlier snatch-theft cases in Kulai and Batu Pahat.
He added that police will submit the investigation papers on the murder case to the deputy public prosecutor's office soon.
In the Dec 17, 2017 incident, the victim, who has since been identified as a triad member, was dragged and stabbed by four suspects before he was run over twice by a white BMW.
The case is believed to have been motivated by unpaid debts owed by the victim to his assailants.
A video of the gruesome murder went viral.
Meanwhile, Mohd Khalil said police have mounted a search for the thief who stole a mobile phone from a fatal accident victim near Danga City Mall, here yesterday.
He added that stealing from the dead was an immoral act.
"Police will not close their eyes on this as a criminal act was committed when the victim was being helped by the public during the incident," he said
The victim, a 16-year-old student, died after he was hit by a van on the way home from school.
The theft caused an uproar on social media as the culprit was mocked for pretending to offer help, but had instead stolen the phone before leaving the scene.
In addition, according to Khalil more than 4,000 snatch theft cases were reported in the state last year.