Berita Harian reported Kelantan police chief Yusoff Mamat as saying that the case was considered solved following the arrest of seven suspects aged between 25 and 52, including a married couple.

All of them were friends or acquaintances of the victim, and police believe disputes had arisen among them.

Yusoff said four of the suspects had criminal records, although all of them tested negative for drugs.

“The victim is believed to have been assaulted at a house in Kota Bharu before being dumped by the roadside in Padang Lati, Bachok,” he told reporters after attending the Kelantan police contingent monthly assembly in Kota Bharu.

“The suspects left him by the roadside with severe injuries to make it appear as though he was the victim of a road accident rather than an assault. He died the following day while receiving treatment at hospital.”

Yusoff said the alleged masterminds, two men aged 25 and 28, were assisted by several others, including in abandoning the victim at the roadside.

The distance between the house where the victim was allegedly beaten and the location where he was found was about 6.5km.

Yusoff said the suspects were being remanded to assist investigations under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, and would be charged in court soon.

Earlier reports identified the victim as Zakir Fikry Zainal, 20, who was believed to have died from severe head injuries sustained in the assault.

Yusoff said the state had seen a sharp rise in murder cases, with five murder cases recorded to date, up from just one case in the same period last year.