Perak police chief Noor Hisam Nordin said the investigation had uncovered larger links to organised crime than police initially believed, and that the case was part of a cross-border criminal network.

Noor Hisam said the conclusion was based on a statement given by the victim’s 31-year-old son, an early suspect in the case.

“There is a possibility that the victim himself was involved in the syndicate. The police investigation will involve (international agencies such as) Aseanapol and Interpol,” Berita Harian reported him as saying.

He said the state police had handed their investigation of the case over to Bukit Aman’s criminal investigation department.

Noor Hisam said the son, who was arrested shortly after the discovery of his father’s body, was freed on Tuesday.

The victim, who was in his 50s, was found in his kitchen with stab wounds to the right side of his abdomen and a slash wound to the right side of his chest.

A 22cm-long knife, found cleaned and placed in the kitchen sink, was believed to have been used in the murder.

An autopsy of the body also found gunshot wounds to the chest, determined to be the cause of death.

The son, who has no criminal record, was arrested on June 25.

He was remanded for seven days until July 1 to aid the investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.