Woman dies in loanshark-related bomb blast

KUALA LUMPUR - A WOMAN was killed and a man seriously injured when a home-made explosive exploded in front of an apartment unit in Cheras.

The two were inspecting the contents of a box placed outside their employer's unit at Desa Tun Razak when the explosion occurred yesterday morning. Both suffered 90 per cent burns to the face and body. They were rushed to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital where Ng Siew Hong, 51, died nine hours later.

Goh Yong Seng, 38, has been transferred to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital which has a better-equipped burns unit. He is reported to be in a critical condition. The 51-year-old owner of the 12th-floor apartment unit, who was awakened from his sleep when he heard a knock on his door at 8.30am yesterday, found a cardboard box with two pomeloes placed on top, on the floor outside his unit.

The man, who wanted to be identified only as Lim, said he smelt kerosene and felt suspicious. 'I asked several neighbours if they had seen anyone place the box there but no one saw anything,' said Mr Lim, who runs an Internet cafe and a restaurant on the ground floor of the apartment block.

He then called Ng and Mr Goh to inspect the contents of the box. The box exploded when the workers when they touched it. Police said illegal-money lending and gambling debts could be the possible motives for the shocking attack.

Acting Cheras OCPD Superintendent Abdul Rahim Hamzah Othman said a clear image of the suspect could be seen from the CCTV footage taken in the apartment lift.'We can clearly see his face,' he said, adding that police were now looking for him. SOURCE

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Cops identify Cheras bomber

THE man who delivered a home-made explosive to an apartment unit in Cheras which killed a woman and seriously injured a man on Sunday has been identified.

One of the residents at the Desa Tun Razak apartments said he recognised the 'bomber' from the CCTV footage policemen showed him when he was interviewed.

'When I saw the image, I knew I had seen him before,' said the resident who declined to be named. The suspect is believed to have patronised the Internet cafe owned by the man for whom the bomb was intended.

CID chief Senior Assistant Commissioner II Datuk Ku Chin Wah, who confirmed the suspect has been identified, said police were trying to trace him. 'We believe the motive was his huge losses from gambling,' he said.