For Ani, a petite Indonesian worker living in Jalan Kampung Pisang, Bukit Mertajam, the best option would be to flee as fast as she could from the village.

Jalan Kampung Pisang is now world famous for it is where police recently found a ‘slaughter’ house believed to have been used to dismember murdered Myanmar nationals.

“But it is not easy to just pack up and leave as we cannot afford it, but we feel scared living here,” she told Malaysiakini when met yesterday.

Like others, Ani, 30, is very much affected by the incident, and is unwilling to share much details of her life due to fear, let alone have her photos taken for the interview.

“We could be the next victim if we talk too much,” said Ani, who came to live in the village with her Bangladeshi husband about a year ago.

“We are sometimes afraid to come out of the house but we have no choice, we have to make a living,” she lamented.

Last Friday, police raided the house where they found three long machetes, and sealed off the unit with a lock and chain.

Two Myanmarese who rented units in the village, within Cherok To Kun Atas, were earlier detained to help police in the probe.

The duo were part of the 17 detained by police believed to be linked to the murders, Penang police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi had said.

According to The Sun Daily , Abdul Rahim revealed that police has resolved eight related cases and more details of the crime will be revealed this Thursday.

At the time of writing, the police were unavailable for comment.

Malaysiakini met another Indonesian worker, from nearby Kg Baru, who claimed she was acquainted with the wife of one of the two suspects.

“She used to boast a lot about her wealth but never for a moment did we think her husband would be involved in such heinous crime,” said the woman, who requested strict anonymity.

“We find her a big show-off but other than flaunting her wealth, she never spoke of anything else,” the woman added.

It is learnt that the suspect’s wife, an Indonesian from Medan, and her two children, a baby and three-year-old toddler, were taken by police after her husband was arrested.

A Facebook account believed to belong to the suspect’s wife, showed her spotting a thick gold bracelet on her left wrist, enjoying happier times with her husband at a beach, with their children and friends.

It is learnt that the wife of another suspect had lived in the so-called slaughter house with her husband, “But we do not know her as she is a Myanmarese,” the woman said.

“It is unimagineable how the wife can live in the same unit where the slaughter took place,” said the woman, also in her 30s.

100 villages had lived uneventfully

About 100 villagers - local Malays (about two households), Bangladeshis, Indonesians, Myanmarese and Thais - have so far lived uneventfully in the village which overlooks the hills of Bukit Mertajam.

It is learnt that the suspects were new to the village as they rented the units only about six months ago.

A secluded area with thick jungle growth at the back of the 20 low-cost units, the village is located only 2km from Alma and Cherok To Kun, both busy towns in Bukit Mertajam.

Mashita, when met while sweeping the front of her home, said her family lived in daily fear and are planning to move out soon.

“We are scared especially at nights as we feel that this place has become ‘berhantu’ (haunted),” she lamented.

“We were shocked when we first learnt about the murders from the newspapers as we live so close to the (slaughter) house,” added the teenager, whose family hails from Tasek Gelugor.

Cherok To Kun village development and security committee (JKKK) head Osman Ibrahim also expressed shock, mulling at the motive of the killings as police did not rule out revenge.

However, Osman denied that the local folks were terrified of living in the village.

He said the locals never bothered with the foreigners as such incidents had never happened before in the village, which was largely inhabited by Indonesians earlier.

“If there were any unwanted incidents at the village, we would just inform the landowner,” said Osman, who also lived nearby.

“We are worried though, if they have disputes with outsiders,” he added.

Osman said the landowner usually rented the units without probing much into the background of the tenants, as long as he can collect monthly rental about RM300 to RM400 per unit.

“We will advice the landowner to exercise caution when renting out his units in the future,” Osman said.

Police urged to conduct thorough probe

PKR’s Machang Bubok assemblyperson Lee Khai Loon urged police to conduct a through investigation to prevent the incident from recurring.

Lee ( right ) said police should patrol the area more frequently to restore public safety and overcome fear among the villagers.

“I will organise a dialogue with the police and the residents in Machang Bubuk to ensure public awareness  of what happened in their community.

“Knowing the truth will help us work better with the police to ensure public safety and improve security,” he told Malaysiakini .

“I hope police will allow community policing like PPS (outlawed voluntary patrol units formed by the Penang government in 2011) to continue as cooperation between police and community is very crucial,” he added.