16 Suspects Detained, After Man Killed For Stealing RM1 Million Tokay Gecko

Man killed over RM1mil tokay gecko

SHAH ALAM: A man was killed over a tokay gecko which has a market value of RM1mil for supposedly able to cure various ailments, including HIV.

The man was found slumped in a car near a beverage factory here on Aug 30 of a gunshot wound.

Police have detained 16 suspects, aged between 21 and 60, to assist in the investigations.

Selangor police chief Senior Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Shukri Dahlan said investigations revealed that the man was killed for stealing a RM1mil gecko after agreeing to look for a potential buyer.

“We also detained a 60-year-old businesswoman, who is believed to have hired someone to kill the man,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

He said the businesswoman, who kept the gecko, told police that she handed over the reptile to the victim as he had promised to find a potential buyer. The man fled with it.

Mohd Shukri said the suspects were believed to have been hired by the woman to locate the victim.

The suspects found the victim, after which a fight broke out that led to one of the suspects to fire a shot which hit the victim.

Mohd Shukri said police seized several items from the suspects, including an iron pipe, six rounds of live ammunition, three spent shells, nine handphones and a screw-driver.

 "We have yet to find the gecko lizard," he added.

                                          According to a report by Indonesia’s Tribun Kaltim newspaper in May 2010:

A giant gecko weighing 64 kilograms, found in Nunukan-Malaysia border in Kalakbakan, was eventually sold for RM 64 million ($20 million).