JOHOR BARU: Bank officer Ho Chin Tau and his wife have been waiting for five years to have their first child.
Unfortunately, the 33-year-old would never get to hold his own child in his arms.
Ho was stabbed to death by a security guard on Friday.
His father, Ho Guan Bee, 62, who flew in from Tawau, said his heart sank when he received a call from his daughter-in-law’s family about the incident.
“His death is a great loss, especially to his wife as they have been waiting after more than five years of marriage to have their child,” he said at the family’s home in Tampoi here yesterday.
Ho’s wife is currently five months’ pregnant.
Her brother Tan Ka Ching, 36, described Ho as a person with a good heart and well-liked by relatives and colleagues.
“My whole family is shocked. My sister is emotionally distraught,” he said.
During the 3.30pm incident on Friday, the security guard, who was on duty at the three-storey bank in Jalan Molek 1/11 here, had run amok after an argument with Ho.
In a rage, he took out a knife and stabbed Ho in the face and neck. He also slashed a female employee in the process.
The 44-year-old man had since been taken into custody.
The suspect’s older brother, who only wanted to be known as Razli, said he had never complained nor approached the family over any problem at work.
“He was in his usual mood that day. At around 3pm, he called me and asked me to pick him up after work at the bank. However, not long after that, he contacted the house again and asked to speak to my child.
“But then, I heard loud screams over the phone and he immediately ended our call,” said Razli, adding that he had a bad feeling that something terrible had happened.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff, who visited Ho’s family, said initial investigations showed that the suspect did not have any prior criminal record.
“He was supposed to be guarding the building and parking area and he has no business to be on the first floor,” he said.
R. Vasantha Devi, 54, whose face was slashed, had been discharged from the Sultan Ismail Hospital.-thestar
