Student held over death of sisters
BY EMBUN MAJID
Grieving family: Siti Aishah (centre), her husband Rusdi Rani (right) and relatives walking to the Muslim cemetery where the bodies of the three sisters will be buried.
ALOR SETAR: A 16-year-old student from Arau, Perlis, has been detained in connection with the death of Norsyafika Nadia Rusdi, 14, and her two younger sisters.
Kota Setar OCPD Asst Comm Adzaman Mohd Jan said the boy was picked up for questioning after his telephone number was found on Norsyafika’s mobile phone.
“Our probe so far shows that he only talked with the victim over the phone after he obtained her number from a friend.
“We, however, believe the youth can help shed light into the girls’ death and he has been remanded for four days to facilitate investigations,” ACP Adzaman said yesterday.
Police have also questioned 10 people, including the girls’ relatives and friends, to help in the probe.
Norsyafika was found dead in a padi field in Kampung Alor Senibong at about 3.45pm on Saturday.
On Sunday, the bodies of her two sisters, Nur Izzati Husna Rusdi, 12, and Puteri Nurul Akma Rusdi, three, were found floating in a canal in Kampung Padang Petani at about 4.50pm, about 3.5km from where Norsyafika was found.
All three are believed to have been murdered.
ACP Adzaman said a post-mortem on Nur Izzati and Puteri Nurul Akma showed that both died due to drowning.
“We have collected specimens from the three girls for analysis to check if they were poisoned or drugged,” he said, adding that the case was being investigated for murder.
Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, who visited the family to offer his condolences on Sunday night, believed police would catch the culprit soon.
“The news of their death is shocking and heartbreaking. The state government shares the family’s anguish.
“If I were in their place, I too would not be able control my feelings,” he said.
Meanwhile, the grieving mother could only utter the words “it is cruel” repeatedly when being consoled by relatives at the Sulta- nah Bahiyah Hospital mortuary here.
Siti Aishah Ariffin, 40, was at a loss for words, seeking solace instead in the arms of her 35-year-old sister-in-law Noraini Rani.
She lost consciousness whenever she looked at her daughters’ clothes and belongings.
“Any mother would collapse under such circumstances.
“Since the girls went missing on Friday night, she had eaten only twice and very little at that,” said Siti Aishah’s mother-in-law Robiah Daud, 59.
“She has spoken little but told me that she would accept it if one of them died, but when the three of them died in such a manner, it was just too much for her to bear,” she said.
Robiah said she last spoke to her grandchildren on Thursday night when Puteri Nurul Akma telephoned her and told her that she hoped to visit her in Terengganu.
The elderly woman said she had taken care of the girls during the eight years the family lived in Terengganu and the girls had been very close to her.
.jpg)
