Kuala Krai police chief Mazlan Mamat said police received an emergency call about the incident at 7.30am from a member of the public.

He said a team from the Kuala Krai police headquarters and Dabong police station rushed to the location and found the 74-year-old victim lying in a pool of blood in the kitchen.

“Initial investigations show the victim was struck on the head with a blunt object, which caused serious injuries. He was confirmed dead at the location.

“Police detained the victim’s 30-year-old son and seized a broken chair,” Bernama reported him as saying.

Mazlan said the suspect tested positive for methamphetamine in initial urine tests. He was a former inmate of the Batu Jong satellite prison in Kuala Krai for drug trafficking, having been released in early July.

“Since his release, the suspect has been living with the victim and his mother. Checks also found that the suspect has seven previous criminal records, five related to drug cases and two cases of criminal intimidation,” he said.

Mazlan said the victim’s body was sent to the Sultan Ismail Petra Hospital’s forensic unit for a post-mortem.

The suspect will be brought to the magistrates’ court tomorrow for a remand application.

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