Local and Sarawakian to be detained for investigation into murder of resort operator
Tiong
KOTA KINABALU: Police have detained two men who they believed could assist in the murder of a resort operator at Beverly Hills Commercial Centre in Bundusan, Penampang early this month.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib yesterday said both men, in their 30s, were picked up by police on Wednesday (August 7) to be investigated under Section 117 of the Crime Procedure Code, which allows the detention of a suspect for more than 24 hours to enable the police to complete their investigation.
Hamza said the men, one a local and the other a Sarawakian, would be held for a week to facilitate police investigation into the 10.30pm shooting on August 3.
“Police believed they can help us in our investigation,” he said without disclosing the motive of the shooting.
Tiong Choon Kwong, 44, a resort operator from Kuching died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital after his assailant shot him at close range outside a coffee shop at Beverly Hills Commercial Centre on August 3.
Tiong succumbed to one gunshot wound on his right ribs at 12.10am on August 4, about two hours after the incident.
It was reported that the shooter opened fire at close range with a shotgun while Tiong was talking on his cellphone around 10.30pm.
The suspect then fled in a white vehicle, believed to be either a Perodua Kancil, a Viva or a Myvi car.
It was learnt that Tiong, who operated a resort at Dinawan Island off Papar, had been residing in he state capital since 2007.
It was said that he was a former Restricted Residence detainee who served his time in Sabah’s east coast Kunak district some years ago and only started his business about two years ago.
Some of his friends in Sabah believed he might have been the victim of a hit ordered by underworld kingpins in Sabah and Sarawak.
An online news portal had reported that Tiong, who goes by the aliases Ah Nong King @ Raja Nong, was believed to be the leader of a crime syndicate that is active in Sabah.
The portal among others alleged that he was believed to have masterminded drug deals in Kunak after he was banished to the district.
The portal further alleged that Tiong subsequently ventured into the lucrative cyber gambling business around 2010 in Sabah, which included districts such as Kota Kinabalu, Lahad Datu and Tawau.