KUALA LUMPUR: There have been 445 murders using firearms over the last eight years, Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.
In a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat today, he said the highest number of murders took place in 2013 with 95 cases, while the lowest numbers were recorded in 2011 with 36 cases.
He was asked by Sim Chee Keong (DAP-Bukit Mertajam) on the number of firearm-linked murders.
Zahid said there were 38 firearm-linked murders in 2008, 45 in 2009, 53 in 2010, 68 in 2012, 41 in 2014, 45 in 2015 and 24 cases as of September 2016.
He revealed that out of the 445 murder cases, 182 had been solved.
The country has strict laws over the ownership of firearms. Most Malaysians would have never seen a proper firearm aside from the standard issued revolvers that policemen carry, much less ever wielding one.