STRICT and uncompromising with the rule of law, Customs Department deputy director-general Datuk Shaharuddin Ibrahim (pix) was not one person smugglers could wrap their fingers around.
But Shaharuddin paid with his life for the high level of professionalism he practised in enforcing the law over 30 years in the department.
On April 26, 2013, just about a year away from retirement, Shaharuddin then aged 58, set out for work as usual.
His driver fetched him from his home in Dengkil past 8am and they headed to his office in Putrajaya.
About 30 minutes into the journey, the car stopped at a traffic light at the Lebuh Wawasan-Lebuh Sentosa junction near Putrajaya.
As they waited for the traffic lights to turn green, a motorcyclist and his pillion rider pulled over next to the front passenger side where Shaharuddin was seated.
Three gunshots fired by the pillion rider rang out.
As the biker sped off from the scene, Shaharuddin went limp and slumped in his seat.
He had taken a gunshot to his neck.
After his stunned driver regained his composure, he sped towards the Putrajaya Hospital with his boss bleeding profusely from his wound.
Minutes after doctors attended to Shaharuddin, he was pronounced dead.
As police proceeded with investigations and a hunt for the hitmen behind the killing, speculation emerged in the news reports for days after the shooting.
Among them were that the top officer had come down hard on drug smugglers linked to an underworld gang.
Shaharuddin’s family on the other hand claimed that a Langkawi-based luxury car smuggling syndicate was allegedly responsible for his death.
Over 40 people, including Shaharuddin’s family members, were summoned by police to assist in the probe while a dozen others were arrested over the months and years to come. However, none were implicated in the assassination which remains unsolved until this day.
Described as a loving husband and father, Shaharuddin is survived by his wife and two children.
