Discovery of six human skeletons, 2 brothers charged with murder of a man

TWO brothers were charged in the Magistrate's Court in Johor Bahru today with the murder of a man last year.

R Arasan, 32, who appeared on crutches, and his brother, R Utes, 36, nodded their heads in understanding of the charges against them, but no confession was recorded before Magistrate Nabilah Nizam.

Based on the charge sheet, they were charged with jointly murdering V Thamil Selvan, 28, at an unnumbered house near an oil palm plantation, Kangkar Pulai, between 12.30 am and 4 am, on September 15, 2025.

They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which, if convicted, carries a sentence of hanging to death or imprisonment for between 30 and 40 years, and if not sentenced to death, up to 12 strokes of the cane.

Prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor, Siti Aishah Latif, while both accused were represented by lawyers, Mohd Hamizi Mohd Yusof and Mohamad Isa Mohamad Basir.

The court set April 6 for mention of the case pending the autopsy, toxicology and DNA test reports, and no bail was granted.

Earlier, the two accused, who are also the main suspects in the case of the discovery of human skeletons including five children in a burnt house in an oil palm plantation area in Kangkar Pulai, arrived at the Court Complex at 9am to face the charge.

The two local men, who are believed to be friends of the two adult victims, boarded a police vehicle accompanied by police personnel including the case investigation officer.

Yesterday, Johor Police Chief, Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad reportedly said that the husband of one of the victims lodged a report at the Iskandar Puteri District Police Headquarters (IPD) on January 9, after finding a human skeleton while searching for his wife and children who were reported missing.

Following the discovery, a forensic pathology team from the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) and the Johor police forensics conducted an examination and post-mortem on the skeleton found in the house located near an abandoned temple.

Investigations found that the six victims were a 35-year-old adult woman, a 19-year-old teenage girl, two girls aged nine and five, a two-year-old boy and a 29-year-old adult man. – February 4, 2026