Manhunt on for killers for Bahrain-born banker
Manama, July 31, 2013
A manhunt has been launched by Malaysian police to track down the killer of a top Bahrain-born banker, who was gunned down in broad daylight.
Hussain Ahmed Najadi was shot from close range as he was leaving a Chinese temple in Kuala Lumpur at around 1.50 pm on Monday, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister newspaper.
He was with his 49-year-old Malaysian wife Cheong Mei Kuen, who survived the shooting but suffered serious hand and thigh injuries.
The 75-year-old, who had an Iranian citizenship and a permanent Malaysian residency, suffered gunshot wounds in his ribs and chest and died instantly.
He was buried last night at Mont Kiara Muslim Cemetery.
Najadi was the chairman and chief executive of multi-billion dollar corporation Arab Investments for Asia Kuwait Limited (AIAK) Group.
Malaysian police have launched an investigation and are questioning witnesses and suspects, including the possibility of contract killers being hired to do the job.
They believe the murder was linked to financial transactions involving the former Bahrain resident.
"The case is being investigated from all angles and it is premature at this stage to speculate or share any information," an investigator from the Kuala Lumpur Police told the GDN yesterday.
"We have not received any calls yet on the hotline for the public about this case. A team led by a senior police officer is investigating the case."
The Prince Court Medical Centre, where Najadi's wife is being treated, told the GDN she was in stable condition. "The patient is in a stable condition and is recovering," said an official.
He said doctors continue to monitor her health condition as it was a "sensitive case".
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Mohmad Salleh said initial investigations showed the motive was linked to the buying and selling of property involving Najadi. He said police are also looking into the possibility of contract killers.
"The suspect is believed to be a local below the age of 50," said Salleh.
Testimonies of seven eyewitnesses were being recorded, CCTV footage examined and a client who met Najadi hours before his murder would be called to the station for questioning.
"We want to record statements from the witnesses and compare their version of events to get a clear picture of what transpired," said Salleh during a Press conference at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters yesterday.
He added the gunman fled the scene in a taxi with a fake number plate with two others waiting inside.
Najadi was previously jailed in Bahrain, reportedly for eight years, for financial crimes. He is said to have later fled to Iran before moving to Malaysia, the GDN report said.
In his his autobiography "The Sea and Hills - the Life of Hussain Najadi" he claimed he was expelled from Bahrain for plotting against British colonial rule, describing himself as a "rebel, a dangerous student activist and troublemaker leading the agitation for independence" against the British.
He also said in a recent radio interview that he considered himself Bahraini at heart and one of the founders of the Bahraini Liberation Front, a leftist group that organised protests against British colonialism and later organised labour movements in Bahrain during the 70s.
However, one of his peers in Bahrain told the GDN yesterday that was not the case and said Najadi was never involved in politics.
His company founded the Arab Malaysian Banking Group (AMBG) in 1975, which is now a $16 billion banking group in Asia. - TradeArabia News Service
