Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department T Murugiah today lodged a police report in Ipoh over an SMS message linking him to the main suspect in the murder of cosmetics queen Sosilawati Lawiya.    

    

He said in a statement that the report was made at the New Town police station after receiving the SMS which he claimed was a lie and libellous.

 

"The SMS is a libellous statement against me, purposely linking me to the main suspect in the brutal murder of Sosilawati, and it is not true at all," he said.

He said the statement read as follows: "Peguam yang kena charge dalam kes Sosilawati bercadang sertai MIC kata Murugiah yang merupakan kawan baik beliau.

"Peguam ini juga adalah salah seorang penasihat timbalan menteri tersebut dalam kes ROS. Murugiah adalah rakan kongsi peguam dalam perniagaan di mana Murugiah dapat 3 juta dalam satu deal."

(The lawyer suspect in the Sosilawati case plans to join the MIC, said Murugiah, who is a good friend of his.

"This lawyer is also an advisor of the deputy minister in his case with ROS (Registrar of Societies). Murugiah is a partner of the lawyer in a business where Murugiah received 3 million in one deal.)

Murugiah said the suspect was not the lawyer who handled his case with the ROS and that the SMS was intentionally sent to undermine his image and position in politics and as a deputy minister.

"I believe the SMS was sent by those who have vested political interests and would benefit should my political career be ruined.

"This is a most serious matter. It is not only a libellous SMS but its dissemination can undermine the investigation into the high-profile Sosilawati murder case," he said.

Murugiah, when calling on Sosilawati's family following her murder, had said that he had met the lawyer suspect at the presentation of Aidilfitri donations in Banting on Sept 8 and that the lawyer had expressed to him an interest to join the MIC.

Sosilawati, 47, her driver Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, and CIMB Bank officer Noorhisham Mohammad, 38, went missing on Aug 30 after they went to Banting in Selangor over a land deal.

Police found out that the four were killed, their bodies burnt and the ashes thrown into rivers near Ladang Gadong, Tanjung Sepat, near Banting.

Eight suspects, among them two lawyers, have been detained to facilitate investigations into the murders.

Meanwhile, Ipoh police acting chief Supt Ibrahim Abu Bakar, when contacted, confirmed that a police report on the SMS was lodged by Murugiah's secretary at the New Town police station at 10am today.

"The deputy minister had received the SMS while attending a programme in Teluk Intan yesterday," he said.

He also said that the secretary lodged a police report at the Teluk Intan district police headquarters yesterday.

- Bernama