SHAH ALAM: The shootout drama that ended in the deaths of three suspected criminals took a twist yesterday, with police saying there was no Immigration record of Janarthanan Vijayaratnam entering the country three weeks ago.
The 40-year Sri Lankan was said to have arrived in Malaysia on Aug 28 with his Malaysian wife Moganambal Govindasamy, 35.
Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Noor Azam Jamaludin said the identities of the three killed in Rawang had been confirmed after their fingerprints matched records at the National Registration Department.
They were identified as Janarthanan, Thavaselvan Govindasamy, 31, and Maghendran Santhirasegaran, 23.
Noor Azam said Janarthanan had signed up under the Malaysian government’s amnesty programme for undocumented immigrants in 2013 and was to be repatriated.
However, the Sri Lankan was sought by Sentul police over a theft case in 2016 after Maghendran told police that Janarthanan was an accomplice in the crime.
“Janarthanan worked as a labourer in Malaysia. We are investigating if he had really left the country after signing up for the amnesty programme because he was implicated in another crime in 2016,” Noor Azam said.
“As for the claim he had arrived on Aug 28 from the UK, there is no record of his arrival. Only his wife arrived from the UK that day.”
Noor Azam said police are checking with the British High Commission on claims by Janarthanan’s family that he was a UK permanent resident and was residing there.
Thavaselvan was listed as a wanted criminal and had a string of criminal records that included robbery, while Maghendran had records for other crimes, Noor Azam said, adding that both were members of the 08 Gang.
Noor Azam also said police have received a missing person report on Moganambal and efforts to find her are ongoing.
Moganambal, who is Thavaselvan’s sister, was purportedly with the trio when they were shot dead, but police have denied she was present during the 5am incident.
“We are transparent on the whole matter and it is the right of the family to take up the matter with the relevant authorities if they find discrepancies in the case,” Noor Azam said.
“Our priority is to prevent crimes. Since early this year, 72 armed robbery cases and home intrusions were reported in Selangor. Eight men and four women were injured in those cases, that caused about RM3.4 million in losses.”
On Saturday, police engaged in a shootout with the trio after they opened fire at them following a 7km chase in Batu Arang, Rawang. Noor Azam said the deceased are believed to have been involved in at least 15 armed robbery cases.
