In a statement, Brickfields police chief Anuar Omar said they were alerted to the robbery at a home on Jalan Mambu at 3.30am.

Emergency services confirmed the man, 71, had died. His wife, 70, was sent to the University Malaya Medical Centre for treatment.

Both victims were retired civil servants and it is understood that their attackers were two men armed with parangs.

“Forensic investigations at the crime scene indicated the victims were attacked using a sharp object based on the injuries sustained on several parts of their bodies,” Anuar said.

The case has been classified as murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

“Police are tracing and hunting down the suspects involved.”

Anuar urged members of the public with information on the incident to call them at 03-22979222.

Kuala Lumpur CID chief Nik Ros Azhan Nik Ab Hamid later identified the victim as Wan Hassan Wan Embong, a former researcher of the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi).

He told Bernama the incident happened during a blackout in the area. He said the victim was believed to have been slashed when he tried to put up a fight against the intruders, who broke in through the kitchen window of the double-storey bungalow.

The couple’s daughter called the police after her mother informed her of the incident.

Nik Ros said the suspects fled with a wallet and a laptop, among other things, but the actual value of the belongings taken has yet to be established.

“Efforts to track down the suspects are continuing, including by viewing the CCTV recordings of neighbouring houses because the victims’ house did not have a closed-circuit camera,” he added.