By M. SIVANANTHA SHARMA

BUKIT MERTAJAM, MALAYSIA: Three men have been arrested in connection with a murder at Taman Pelangi flats where an Indonesian was murdered with his penis and testicles sliced off.

All of them were the deceased's housemates who fled the crime scene after the murder on Tuesday, Central Seberang Prai acting OCPD Supt Mohan Singh said.

Police have not ruled out the possibility of it being a crime of passion.

The three Indonesians, aged between 26 and 40, were picked up at a nearby vacant unit by a police party led by Bukit Tengah police station officer-in-charge Chief Insp A. Subramaniam at 9am yesterday.

"Two of them had injuries on their backs, faces and legs, leading us to believe that they were at the scene of the crime. They were sent to the Seberang Jaya Hospital for treatment after being remanded by a magistrate's court."

"We believe that the murder case has been solved with the arrest of the three who were in the country without any valid travel documents," Supt Mohan Singh said.

The deceased's organs were found next to his body. Police recovered a piece of window pane glass said to be the murder weapon which was also believed to have been used to cut off his private parts.

Supt Mohan Singh said an Indonesian woman, who was picked up at the scene, had been staying at the flat with the men, including the deceased, for the past few months.

"Our investigations showed that there was a quarrel between the deceased and the woman prior to the murder at about 4am that day."

"We are now trying to determine the main perpetrator."

"A crime of passion had been identified as one of the motives."

"A post-mortem showed that he died after being stabbed in the abdomen," he added.

Police are trying to determine the connection between the deceased and the woman who was admitted to a hospital in a state of shock.