Jeli district police chief Ahmad Arifin said that the suspect, who lived with his two brothers, including the victim, suffered from depression for the past two years after breaking up with his ex-wife.

The 36-year-old suspect, who was holding a sword believed to have been the murder weapon, was arrested by police at 11am this morning.

“He seemed to be in a state of confusion when we nabbed him. After questioning the family, we were told that the suspect had never acted aggressively and only sometimes became depressed but had never received any treatment,” Ahmad said.

In the incident that happened at 1.20am this morning, the victim, Ma Udeng Masae, 30, died at the scene with severe injuries to the back of his neck after being hacked with a sword.

Ahmad said that the police rushed to the location after receiving a call regarding the incident at 3am.

“Upon arrival, the victim was lying down and covered in blood while the suspect had disappeared.”

According to a Berita Harian report, Ahmad said that the victim was cooking in the kitchen before the incident and was suddenly approached by his brother and slashed in the neck.

The victim’s body was sent to Hospital Jeli for a post-mortem to be conducted.

Ahmad said that the suspect had tested negative for drugs and that a remand application will be made tomorrow under Section 302 of the Penal Code to assist with the investigation.