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POLICE in Kota Bharu have detained a 21-year-old Rohingya man after his 18-year-old housemate was found dead with slash and machete wounds to the neck at a kongsi house near a Muslim cemetery in Kampung Pak Boh near Kota Bahru on Saturday.
Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat said the suspect, a construction worker, was arrested at his rented house in Pasir Mas after allegedly fleeing the scene following the incident.
He said initial investigations found that the suspect claimed he had acted after experiencing hallucinations and receiving an alleged instruction from God.
“He said...he woke up early in the morning and claimed he received an instruction from God. We are still investigating the matter.
“The suspect appears to have experienced hallucinations, and whether that condition actually occurred or not must be determined by medical experts,” he said at a press conference after officiating the Kelantan police contingent’s monthly assembly in Kota Bharu today.
The victim was found dead with slash and machete wounds to his neck at about midnight on Saturday.
The Kota Bharu district police headquarters’ operations control centre received information about the discovery at about 12.12am.
Mohd Yusoff said the suspect was believed to have used a machete in the attack.
He said initial investigations also found that there had been no argument or struggle between the two men before the incident.
“There was no argument, no struggle. They were in the same place and were relaxing as usual,” he said.
Police are also investigating discrepancies in the suspect’s identification documents after records obtained by authorities showed similarities in the dates of birth.
Mohd Yusoff said the discrepancy involved only the year of birth and was being checked to determine whether there had been misuse of a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card.
State Police Chief Confirms Surge In Maritime Trafficking From Tak Bai
Separately, police in Kelantan have identified an aggressive human trafficking syndicate operating out of Tak Bai, Thailand, that is utilizing sea routes to smuggle undocumented migrants into the state.
Mohd. Yusoff Mamat said that operational intelligence regarding the network has been formally transmitted to Thai authorities to facilitate joint enforcement action.
He noted a clear tactical shift by traffickers who are increasingly deploying maritime vessels to bypass traditional border checks.
“The current trend sees undocumented migrants brought into Tak Bai as a transit location. The syndicate then transports the group into the state via sea routes,” he said, warning that the operatives involved have demonstrated increasingly aggressive tactics to evade law enforcement.
He added that state police maintain continuous surveillance over the network's activities and maritime movements. The development marks a significant operational shift from previous smuggling patterns, which relied primarily on illegal bases and pangkalan haram across the Sungai Golok border. under investigation,” he said. - September 22, 2026
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