MALACCA: A jobless man with a record for drug abuse went on a killing spree at a house here, slashing three members of a family to death and seriously injuring three others.

The man himself is believed to be a member of the family.

The horrific attacks happened while the victims were sleeping in the house at Jalan Sidang Daif in Bertam Malim here at about 6am yesterday.

The dead were identified as Tangga Batu Wanita Umno division permanent chairman Mariah Baharin, 61, her husband Hassan A Wahab, 72, and the couple’s youngest son Mohd Basir Taufeq Hassan, 22, a student of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM).

The couple’s daughters Noor Haslinda Diyana Hassan, 26, and Nuraqedah Aeina Hassan, 24, are now fighting for their lives at the Malacca Hospital with severe injuries to their heads, necks and wrists.

An elderly relative, Siti Khatijah Muhammad, 75, who witnessed the attacks on the family, has also been warded at Malacca Hospital for trauma.

The 26-year-old suspect, armed with a sharp object, was believed to have stormed into several rooms and killed them one by one as they slept.

Malacca police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Ramli Din said three victims were dead when police arrived at the scene.

DCP Ramli said police detained the suspect at a mosque in Bukit Rambai, about 5km from the scene of the grisly murders, five hours later.

The suspect tried to flee in a relative’s car when police tracked him to the mosque. It is learnt that he was clad in a blue robe when he was caught.

The man, a former inmate of the Henry Gurney School, has been detained under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

Earlier, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron, who is Tangga Batu Umno chief and Selangor Umno chief Tan Sri Noh Omar, who was in Malacca for an event, visited the house and spoke to shocked relatives.-thestar