Two gang members charged with murder for petrol station slaying

JOHOR BARU: Two youths were charged in the magistrate's court here today with the murder of an alleged gang member last December.
Gan Jia Ji, 19, and Yip Kah Hou, 22, along with five suspects still at large, were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, with causing the death of Tan Aik Chai, 44, at a petrol station along Jalan Sri Pelangi at 7.30pm on Dec 17, 2017.
The two accused and the victim allegedly belonged to the same gang and were involved in drug trafficking.
Gan, who was clad in a grey T-shirt, and Yip, in a green T-shirt, nodded their heads to show that they understood the charge which was read out to them by an interpreter.
No plea was recorded as the post-mortem report has not yet been submitted to the court.
Magistrate Siti Hajar Ali set Feb 13 for case management.
Yip, a Malaysian, was arrested in Singapore. He was represented by lawyer Chuah Shyue Chien, while Gan went unrepresented.
DPP Muhamad Syafiq Mohd Ghazali was the prosecutor assigned to the case.
In the incident, the victim was seen in a video being dragged and stabbed by several suspects, before he was run over twice by a white car.
Johor police chief Datuk Mohd Khalil Kader Mohd said police are hunting for nine more suspects, aged between 21 and 40, who played a role in the cold-blood murder, including the main suspect.
According to sources, the main suspect, 35, is the leader of the gang. He is believed to be recently divorced and has several crimes on record, including testing positive for drugs after a urine test.
It is believed that some members might have snuck into Thailand, but police said it is just a matter of time before they are nabbed.
Earlier, police had arrested 15 suspects, including seven who were held in Singapore.