SHAH ALAM - You may have heard of Aileen Wuornos, Dorothea Puente and pop singer Nur Maznah Ismail, better known as Mona Fandey.
These three women are convicted murderers and have made headlines for the gruesome or unforgivable manners they have killed.
However, female killers - especially in Malaysia, are rare.
Here we look at six noteworthy cases that have caught the eyes of many, be it by self-defense or deliberate violence.
Mother-daughter brawl over saving the world
In 2020, a 53-year-old mentally ill woman beat her 90-year-old mother which ended in a tragic death in Lahad Kepar, Penang.
Police were dispatched to the victim’s home - in the middle of a paddy field - to investigate the matter. Both mother and daughter were living together with the victim's 16-year-old granddaughter.
The granddaughter said the suspect threatened to kill the nonagenarian "to solve all problems and save the world".
Initial investigations showed that there were injuries to the victim's left hand and face, believed to have been caused by a blunt object.
Teen ends new husband with vegetable knife
A 22-year-old woman escapes death penalty when the Muar High Court ordered her to be jailed for a period until pardoned by the Sultan of Johor, after she was found guilty of killing her husband five years ago, after finding that the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubts against the prosecution’s case.
The woman was charged with killing her husband, Mohd Firdaus Md Sallehuddin, 28, at a house on Jalan Indah 6, Taman Pertama Indah, Sungai Abong, here, at about 1.30pm, October 14, 2017.
Based on the facts of the case, the woman who was then 17 years old stabbed her husband — a poultry shop assistant — with a vegetable knife at the residence of the latter’s employer, in the incident that occurred about five months into their marriage.
Double stabbing by election candidate
An independent election candidate in the Port Dickson by-election in 2018 was charged with murdering her husband in January this year.
Lau Seck Yan allegedly stabbed her husband, Poh Seng Hiap, 55, a former accountant, in the chest and waist at their home at the Rasah Kemayan Golf and Country Township on Sunday. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.
It was reported that the husband was found dead with two stab wounds in the chest and waist in the kitchen of their house.
The couple has four children and the youngest two were believed to have been at home and witnessed the stabbing.
At the 2018 Port Dickson by-election, Lau, who was the only woman among seven candidates, garnered only 214 votes. The parliamentary seat was won by PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.
Raped teen stabs baby after birth
A 15-year-old rape victim stabbed her newborn baby in Terengganu.
It was reported that the girl gave birth to the baby boy with assistance from a friend at a home in Felcra Seri Bandi, Cukai. While the friend rushed to inform a nearby clinic about the delivery, the teen mother and her baby stayed at home.
When the clinic personnel arrived, they found the baby bleeding from the stab wounds.
Kemaman police chief Superintendent Hanyan Ramlan said the baby boy had stab wounds to the left side of his chest.
She initially sought help from a friend, who then contacted a healthcare staff to inform her about the birth.
The police have identified the rapist but have yet to arrest him. Her trial continues, while authorities seek for the baby's father.
Father-daughter duo caught after bodies found
On April 13, a father and his daughter in Negeri Sembilan were charged with murdering a five-year-old girl in March this year
The accused, Khalid Redza Shuib, 41 and his daughter Nurshafwani Khalid Redza, 18, were jointly charged for causing the death of Hanan Hasrul Izwan, at a house in Jalan Temiang, Taman Nee Yan at about 7pm on March 3.They were also arrested after the discovery of a woman’s body in a ravine at Kilometer 14, Jalan Lama Bukit Putus on March 20 followed by the discovery of skeletal fragments of a girl in some bushes in Taman Bukit Zamrud.
Can't take it no more, wife kills husband in sleep
A 26-year-old Sabah woman stabs husband to death over abusive, philandering ways at their rented home in 2019.
The housewife stabbed her 32-year-old husband in the stomach with a knife as he was sleeping in their home in Lahad Datu.
The man, a security guard managed to pull out the knife from his stomach and fled to a nearby clinic while the woman threw the knife out of a window. He died the next day.
The suspect did not attempt to run away and also led the police to the murder weapon.