Body-in-bag horror in budget hotel

KUALA LUMPUR: Jalan Raja Laut — no stranger to criminal activities — was rocked when the body of a murdered woman was found stuffed inside a bag in a budget hotel at about 10.30pm on Sunday night.

The body of the woman, identified as Indonesian national Rumiyati, was stuffed in a zipper bag and placed in front of a hotel room on the third floor.

Rumiyati, believed to be in her 30s,had checked in at 2pm on the same day.

Police said there were strangulation marks on her neck. A hunt has been launched for the killer.

A check by the The Malay Mail showed there were no CCTVs in the hotel premises, and its management declined to comment.

The discovery was made when a hotel guest became curious after seeing the bag in the corridor.

Thinking it could belong to another guest, the patron decided to check its contents and was shocked to see a body inside.

A woman, who works in the area, said although criminal activities, such as prostitution and drug-dealing, were common there, it was the first time she had heard of a murder.

“I have been in this area for more than five years and this is the first time a murder has occurred here. It was horrifying as the body was stuffed into a bag.”

She said that from what she heard, the victim was new to the area.

Dol, 32, who collects used boxes, said he was shocked to learn a murder had taken place at the hotel.

“This area is well-known for prostitution, robbery and drug activities but we hardly hear about a murder,” he said.

Dang Wangi district police chief ACP Zulkarnaian Abdul Rahman said a post-mortem carried out at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital had determined the woman had been strangled before her body was stuffed into the bag.

There was no identification document on her.

“There were strangulation marks on her neck and her head was smashed with a hard object,” said Zulkarnaian.