POLICE in Johor are probing jealousy and drug-related conflict as possible motives behind the killing of six people whose skeletal remains were discovered in a burned-out house in Kangkar Pulai earlier this month.
The case came to light on Jan 9 when the remains of the victims, four of them children, were found inside an unfinished and abandoned house located within an oil palm plantation about 2km from the main road.
Investigators believe the victims were killed before the house was deliberately set on fire in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence.
Johor police chief Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said the condition of the remains indicated that the bodies had not been moved after death.
“The remains were found on Jan 9 in a house within an oil palm plantation,” he said.
The discovery was made by a 48-year-old man who had gone looking for his family after losing contact with them for nearly three months, police said.
Post-mortem examinations confirmed that the victims comprised two adults, a teenager and three children aged two, five, nine, 17, 29 and 35.
Police revealed that the four minors had never been enrolled in school and had no formal education records.
Investigators said the 35-year-old woman had been living at the remote house with her children following a separation from her husband.
A 29-year-old man, believed to have been close to her, was also staying at the property. Sources familiar with the investigation described the relationship as volatile, raising suspicions that personal jealousy may have played a role in the violence.
Forensic fire analysis showed the blaze was intentionally started from the centre of the house using an open flame and a flammable substance believed to be kerosene.
No emergency call was received on the day of the incident, and a forensic fire team was only deployed later to assist police.
Following intelligence gathering, police arrested four suspects, three men and a woman aged between 19 and 35, in several locations around Iskandar Puteri on Jan 21.
All were found to have criminal records, and three tested positive for methamphetamine.
Police established that the suspects were friends of the adult victims and had previously taken drugs together, reinforcing suspicions that jealousy, substance abuse and interpersonal conflict may have culminated in the killings.
Two male suspects will be charged with murder at the Johor Baru magistrate’s court, while the remaining two suspects have been released on police bail as investigations continue. - February 4, 2026
