Analyst killed over personal matters: Police

From: OngBak3
Subject: Analyst killed over personal matters: Police
by Charles Ramendran

KUALA LUMPUR (March 17, 2010): Police said today they have ruled out
business rivalry and kidnapping as the motive behind the murder of
prominent financial analyst Choong Khuat Hock.

"As for now, we believe the killing was over personal matters. We will
be calling up individuals known to the victim to assist us in our
probe," said federal CID director Commissioner Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri
Zinin said.

Bentong deputy police chief DSP Mansor Mohd Nor said although the
body, which is at the Temerloh Hospital mortuary, was identified as
Choong’s by his family, police will release the remains only after
confirming this with DNA tests as it was decomposed beyond
recognition.

Choong’s family and a staff member at his asset management company,
Kumpulan Sentiasa Cemerlang (KSC), had identified the body based on
the clothes.

Mansor said Choong’s car, a Mercedes Benz, has also not been found
yet.

Choong’s father, Datuk Freddie Choong, when contacted by theSun, said
the funeral will be conducted in Kuala Lumpur and not in his hometown
in Penang after police release his remains.

It was erroneously reported in theSun today that Choong was the son of
former national badminton champion Datuk Eddy Choong and nephew of
Datuk David Choong.

"I am his father. Eddy and David are my older brothers and are Khuat
Hock's uncles," Freddie clarifed and declined further comment on his
son’s death.

Choong was a bachelor and lived alone with a maid at his double-storey
link house at Taman Supreme, Cheras. He was a co-partner of KSC and
also a business news columnist for a newspaper and magazine.

He had failed to report for work on March 10 and his staff members
lodged a missing person’s report with Brickfields police.

On Saturday, his decomposed body was found off the Karak Highway.
Police contacted his family based on the physical description stated
in the missing person’s report as there were no identification papers
on him.

Police said a post mortem showed he died of a blow to his chest caused
by a blunt object at least four days earlier, which meant Choong was
killed just hours after he was last seen at about 6pm on March 9.

Police urged those with information to assist them by contacting the
Bentong CID at 09-222 2222