Johor businessman’s body bound in net, dumped in river; four accused face murder charge

Four men from Johor have been charged with the murder of a businessman whose body was discovered in a river, bound and covered in a net. The accused individuals — S. Yogesvaran, 40, Lim Yong Ming, 26, N. Achutan, 32, and How Han Wei, 33 — appeared before Magistrate Mustaqim Sukarno in Batu Pahat on August 17. They acknowledged understanding the charges, but no pleas were entered, as such cases fall under the High Court's jurisdiction.

The victim, Low Kai Xian, 39, was allegedly murdered between 2:35pm on July 29 and 12:30pm on August 3 at two separate locations. The charges were brought under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which could result in the death penalty or a prison term ranging from 30 to 40 years, with a minimum of 12 strokes of the whip if the death penalty is not imposed.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Shahzleen Ibrahim represented the prosecution, while Yogesvaran, Yong Ming, and How Han Wei had counsel S.J. Sean Dudley, and Achutan was represented by Freda Sabapathy. The victim's family was represented by Chuan Shyie Chien and Kenji Soh Xin Da, who were monitoring the proceedings. The court set October 14 for the presentation of the autopsy and DNA reports, as well as closed-circuit television (CCTV) and mobile phone forensics.

Initially, five suspects were arrested, and a 39-year-old businessman from Iskandar Puteri, reported missing since July 29, was identified by his next of kin based on his clothing and personal belongings. The police suspect the motive for the murder could be related to debt.