The victim, a 40-year-old man wanted by the police for alleged criminal intimidation and physical assault, had challenged the suspect, 30, to a fight at a plantation in Kg Pahu Sungai Lokan.

The suspect turned down the challenge and tried to walk away. However, the victim continued to hurl insults at him, leading the suspect to retrieve a machete from a friend’s house and return to confront the victim.

“However, the suspect tripped and fell, and the victim took the chance to pull out a knife and stab him in the neck before fleeing the scene,” said Beluran police chief V Shivananthan.

“Despite the serious injury to his neck, the suspect picked himself up and chased his assailant into the plantation where he caught up with him.”

In a rage, the suspect repeatedly hacked at the victim with the machete, causing serious injuries to his face, head and arms and exposing the bone in his right elbow.

Shivananthan said the suspect then returned home where his wife helped treat his wounds.

Although the suspect subsequently fled the plantation, police managed to detain him on Monday.

“We also seized the machete and knife believed to have been used in the attack,” Shivananthan added.

According to him, the wives of the two men are sisters. The victim had previously served time for criminal intimidation.

The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.