6 Unsolved Crimes in Malaysia That Continue to Puzzle Authorities & Capture Public Attention

Let's have a look at some of the famous criminal cases in Malaysia that still remain unsolved till today.

1. Sharlinie Mohd Nashar

On the evening of Jan 9, 2008, Sharlinie Mohd Nashar, 4, disappeared after leaving home with her sister to go to a playground just 200m away from their home in Petaling Jaya.

Despite a massive search by the authorities, the child was nowhere to be found. There were many theories about her disappearance. Some claimed she was lured away with sweets by a woman before being forced into a black car. While others speculated that a “cat man” had approached the girl for help to locate his missing cat before abducting her.

At least six people were detained to assist in the investigations, but none yielded results. Sharlinie's disappearance remains unsolved to this day. Despite having been missing for more than a decade, her parents still harboured hopes that Sharlinie would be found someday.

2. Datuk Shaharuddin Ibrahim

During his life, Customs Department deputy director-general Datuk Shaharuddin Ibrahim was said to be strict and uncompromising with the rule of law. But who could have predicted that his professionalism would end up costing him his life?

On the fateful day, on April 26, 2013, Shaharuddin's driver picked him up from his home in Dengkil, and they headed to his office in Putrajaya as usual.

About 30 minutes into the journey, Shaharuddin, who was about a year away from retirement, was shot by a rider while his car was waiting at a traffic light at the Lebuh Wawasan-Lebuh Sentosa junction near Putrajaya. Shaharuddin was later pronounced dead at Putrajaya Hospital after bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound on his neck.

Throughout the case investigations, there are many speculations emerging, like Shaharuddin’s own family, who claimed that a Langkawi-based luxury car smuggling syndicate was allegedly responsible for his death.

Despite multiple arrests and individual summonses to assist in the probe, Shaharuddin's murder remained a cold case to this day.

3. Audrey Bathinathan

Audrey Melissa Bathinathan was only 17 years old when her life was cut short. It all happened in the early hours on May 17, 1999, when Audrey was making her way to her school at the Methodist Girls’ School. At the time, her family lived in Puchong, so Audrey had to commute back and forth from her home to Kuala Lumpur by bus to go to school. Audrey would use the underground tunnel from Dayabumi to the National Mosque to reach her school every day.

On the fateful day, Audrey's mother became anxious when her daughter did not pick up the phone at noon, which was the time she would have usually arrived home from school. Her mother became more agitated upon learning that Audrey did not make it to school that day.

Sadly, on the next day, Audrey's mother would receive the dreadful call from Audrey's school principal who informed her that Audrey's dead body had been found on Jalan Kinabalu, adjacent to a Tenaga Nasional substation. A forensic report later discovered Audrey had been sexually assaulted and strangled to death before her body was dumped in the area.

Throughout the course of the investigations, more than 40 men had been arrested and called to assist in the case; however, none of them were charged with the crime.

4. Jean Perera Sinnappa

Former beauty queen Jean Perera Sinnappa, 31, was found stabbed to death in the front passenger seat of a white Fiat 125 on April 6, 1979. Also found at the scene was a psychology lecturer and Jean's brother-in-law, S. Karthigesu, who was lying disoriented next to the car. According to Karthigesu, he was relieving himself by the roadside when he was knocked on the head. However, there were no injuries found on his body.

Based on circumstantial evidence, Karthigesu was arrested for Jean's murder. It was widely believed to be a crime of passion, as Karthigesu was said to have been in love with his sister-in-law and planned to marry her, while she was allegedly having an affair with a Sri Lankan doctor.

With 60 witnesses testifying against him, Karthigesu was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to death. But, after spending two months in jail while appealing the case, Karthigesu was eventually acquitted of the crime.

After his acquittal, Karthigesu returned to lecturing and got married, eventually having three children. He passed away at the age of 81. As for Jean's murder, it is still considered a cold case to this day.

5. Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Hashim

Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Hashim was Malaysia's Inspector General of Police when he was assassinated on one of Kuala Lumpur's busiest streets in broad daylight on June 7, 1974.

On the day of his murder, Abdul Rahman was scheduled to attend a meeting of the Thai-Malaysian General Border Committee that was held at the Federal Hotel in Jalan Bukit Bintang. But something urgent had come up, and Abdul Rahman was driven from his home in Jalan Kia Peng to the federal police headquarters at Bukit Aman instead.

Abdul Rahman's car was later ambushed by the gunmen at Weld Street (Lorong Raja Chulan). Sadly, his own son, who was working as a reporter for NST at the time, would be among the people who discovered his dead body.

As of this day, the identity of the two gunmen who killed Abdul Rahman remained a mystery, as well as the motive. However, there was a theory that claimed the two hitmen were of the Communist Party of Malaya who acted upon orders from their leader Chin Peng.

6. Ang May Hong

On the early morning of April 12, 1987, nine-year-old Ang May Hong left home with her brother, Ang Yeow Thian, 11, to buy some breakfast at a nearby stall. Along the way, Yeow Thian suddenly had a stomachache and was forced to stop to relieve himself at a corner. Before he did so, he had told his sister to wait for him. However, when he returned to the spot, May Hong had already disappeared.

The Ang family searched for her shortly after. But it was May Hong's father who found her only three hours later at an abandoned house that was supposedly a drug haunt. May Hong was found naked with a metre-long piece of wood with nails stuffed into her private parts, rupturing her inner organs. She also had a piece of wire wound around her neck.

It is believed that more than one person was involved in May Hong's brutal attack based on the bite marks on her body. The police also did not dismiss the possibility that the perpetrator(s) were known to May Hong.