THE father of Wan Khairul Safinah Ishak — the 44-year-old mother-of-five found dead in a Seberang Jaya flat — has revealed that his son-in-law had previously admitted to being overwhelmed by jealousy, only weeks before the suspected murder.
Ishak Man, 76, said the 28-year-old suspect had come to his home in Alor Setar last month together with his daughter, telling him he disliked “other men speaking to or looking at her”.
“He (my son-in-law) told me that he didn’t like other men talking to or looking at Wan because he was jealous,” Ishak said, visibly shaken as he spoke to reporters at the Forensic Unit of Seberang Jaya Hospital.
“I told him to be patient, because Wan is a quiet person. She doesn’t talk much to anyone, not even to me, her own father.
“He seemed normal when I spoke to him. I never imagined he would do something like this to my daughter, as though he had been influenced to the point of losing his senses. Beating someone is one thing — but this was cruelty. This was murder.”
Wan Khairul Safinah was the second of three siblings. Her elder brother died in a road accident 19 years ago, and her mother passed away from Covid-19 in March 2022.
“Now my second child has gone too,” Ishak said. “I am left with only my youngest son. I accept God’s will, but it is unbearably painful to lose her in this way.”
A retired Road Transport Department (JPJ) officer, Ishak said he had never been aware of any serious issues in the couple’s two-year marriage.
“Wan had five children aged between 15 and 26 from her first marriage. Later she expressed her wish to remarry, and I agreed because her future husband seemed polite and pleasant.
“In fact, he used to talk to me the most. I never suspected he would turn out like this.”
The post-mortem has been completed and her remains have been claimed by the family for burial at the Suka Menanti Mosque Muslim Cemetery in Alor Setar after Asar prayers.
A Community In Shock
Residents of the low-cost flats in Jalan Tuna say they are stunned that a woman could have been killed in her unit without anyone noticing.
One long-time resident on the same floor, who requested anonymity, said the couple never mixed with neighbours.
“There was no smell, no noise, nothing strange. They kept to themselves,” he said.
“I hardly ever saw the wife — maybe once a month, and even then she was with her husband.”
He added that the victim’s family had visited last month to bring her home following what locals believed was a quarrel.
“After that, everything seemed normal. This building isn't very big. If someone screamed, everyone would hear. But there was nothing. Everything felt completely ordinary.”
The truth emerged only when police arrived at the unit.
“My wife saw officers at the door and assumed it was a routine visit. Then a policeman asked her if she knew what had happened.
“When they told her there was a body inside, her knees gave way. She called me immediately,” the neighbour said.
“She never bothered anyone, but some residents said she seemed emotionally fragile. She kept to herself.”
Suspect Surrendered And Confessed
Penang Police Chief Datuk Azizee Ismail confirmed that the 28-year-old suspect walked into a nearby station and confessed to killing his wife four days earlier at their second-floor flat.
The victim, a 44-year-old mother-of-five, had married the suspect two years ago.
Police investigations are ongoing. - December 12, 2025
Seberang Jaya, Domestic Violence, Homicide, Crime, Police Investigation
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