DESCRIBED as hardworking and dedicated to his job, former Tenggaroh state assemblyman Datuk S. Krishnasamy (pix) took several death threats he had received as part and parcel of being a politician.
However, his intimidators meant business.
Past noon on Jan 11, 2008, Krishnasamy met several Johor MIC division leaders for lunch at a restaurant in Johor Baru, not realising it would be his last meal.
When he was done, he excused himself and left for the Johor MIC headquarters in Jalan Segget for a meeting.
It was about 2pm when he arrived at the building.
As he stepped into the lift, another man followed him in and a gunshot rang out.
Witnesses spotted a man dashing out of the lift and fleeing from the building before he jumped on a red motorcycle and sped off towards Jalan Wong Ah Fook.
Other party members found Krishnasamy slumped in the lift and bleeding profusely.
He was shot in the left eye and died at the scene.
As police investigations commenced, a photofit of the suspect, believed to be a hired killer said to be in his 30’s, medium-built and dark-skinned, was developed and released to the public.
Business and political rivalry were not discounted as the motive of the killing with the latter being highly likely.
In the coming days, police recorded the statements of several senior MIC leaders and members hoping it could shed light into the motive behind the murder. Several arrests were made and among them were MIC members.
However, they were released after spending days in remand.
Among those who were interviewed by police was the then works minister and MIC president Tun S. Samy Vellu.
Samy was quoted saying that he had advised Krishnasamy to be careful for his safety after the politician confided in him of the threats he had received.
Samy also blamed the lax security at the building for the killer being able to blatantly step in and pull off the assassination.
As leads to the case diminished over the months, federal police took over investigations and detained a businessman and an MIC leader’s son, both in their 30s, to help solve the case but the arrests did not lead to any closure.
After 12 years since the murder took place, the killer remains at large and the case unsolved.
