Missing person case turns to murder investigation – what happened to Sabari?
During interrogations, the two suspects, aged 26 and 38, admitted to binding his hands and sealing his mouth with adhesive tape before throwing him into a river.
SHAH ALAM – The alleged abduction case of Sabari Baharom from Baling has reached a grim conclusion, with suspects arrested last Friday confessing to having thrown Sabari into the Padang Terap River in Jitra, Kedah.
Kedah police chief Datuk Fisol Salleh said during interrogations, the two suspects, aged 26 and 38, admitted to binding his hands and sealing his mouth with adhesive tape before throwing him into a river.
Here’s a timeline of what happened from the day Sabari was reported missing.
Sept 3
According to the family, Sabari, a former Felcra Berhad worker, left his home in Kuala Pegang, Baling, driving his gold-coloured Proton Waja to meet a friend.
Sept 4 and 5
Sabari's family lodged a police report after being unable to contact him.
Concerned for his safety, they launched an online search campaign on social media platforms like Instagram, urging others to assist in the search.
Police revealed CCTV footage showed a local woman using Sabari’s bank account to make money transfers.
Sept 20
Sabari's car was discovered burnt in the Gubir Forest ravine, Belantik, Sik.
Sept 24
A 62-year-old woman was arrested to assist in the police investigation. She is believed to be connected to Sabari’s disappearance.
Sept 27
Police arrested two suspects aged 26 and 38, to assist investigations.
During interrogations, the suspects confessed to throwing Sabari into the river, with his hands bound and mouth sealed.
Nearly a month after Sabari went missing, the case was reclassified as a murder investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
Sept 30
Describing the act as profoundly cruel, Sabari’s youngest son Muhammad Amir Hakimi, 25, admitted to knowing one of the suspects involved in the case.
Amir said that he was acquainted with one of the suspects, a contractor who had worked on a neighbour's house in front of his father's home for the past five months.
Meanwhile, the search operations for Sabari’s remains continue, involving the police, fire and rescue department and the Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM), covering a five-kilometre radius from where the Sabari was believed to have been thrown.
Oct 1
The search operation radius expanded to 12.8 kilometres from the proximity of Jambatan Kampung Empa. Another search location involves the proximity of the Pelubang Water Treatment Plant to the Tandop Chegar area within a seven-kilometre radius.
To date, search efforts have continued to find Sabari.
The search for Sabari has garnered significant attention on social media, with social media users amplifying efforts to find him. His daughter, who goes by @syilla_syilla on Instagram, has been leading the charge, with her posts about her missing father being shared by 4.9k other Instagram users. Other platforms, such as TikTok and X, have also been used to spread awareness.
In a recent Instagram story, Sabari's daughter expressed her anguish, stating:
"I don't understand where the conscience of a human being has gone. A good person like my father should not be treated so cruelly. Robbing him wasn't enough for them; he was killed. You didn't just kill one person; you killed the hearts of all the children who pray for their father every day."
