Johor police chief M Kumar said the syndicate was uncovered during an investigation into the death of a 38-year-old man in Kulai who was purportedly killed in an accident on May 6.

He said the investigation revealed that the syndicate killed the victim so it could claim compensation from a life insurance policy.

“The modus operandi of this syndicate is to buy a RM500,000 life insurance policy for an individual chosen randomly without the person’s knowledge, usually those without relatives or family.

“After the documentation process and the victim’s insurance policy has been approved by the (real) insurance company, the syndicate then schemes to kill the person through a fatal accident,” he said at the Johor police contingent headquarters.

Kumar said eight men, aged 23 to 49, had been arrested to assist in the investigation, adding that police were hunting for other syndicate members still at large.

Earlier, Kumar said the “accident” involving the 38-year-old man occurred at 4.40am. The victim was riding a Honda EX5 motorcycle when his vehicle was hit by two cars and a motorcycle on Jalan Senai-Seelong in Kulai.

He said four people then beat the victim before he was run over by an Isuzu truck that happened to be passing through the road, killing the victim.

“After the victim died, a suspect applied for an insurance claim through an agent who is also a member of the syndicate. However, this insurance claim did not have time to be processed because the syndicate’s modus operandi was uncovered by the Johor police criminal investigation department,” Kumar said.

The case is now being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code (for murder). The four suspects who were arrested have been charged in the Kulai magistrates’ court on June 19, while the other four are out on bail.