PORT DICKSON: A 35-year-old female religious teacher and her 10-year-old son were found murdered, with their legs and hands bound, at their three-room rented flat located near the district police station here.

The bodies of Norliza Ishak and Amirul Ayman Mohd Yusof were found in the bathroom of their first floor unit at Flet Taman Shahbandar in Jalan PD Lama. Their heads were covered with a sarong.

Norliza's colleague at SK Port Dickson, Norhayati Zainuddin, 25, and the school headmaster found the bodies after the building keeper had helped them unlock the door to the unit. They had gone looking for them when mother and son were absent from school.

"We were shocked to see the bodies in the bathroom. I cannot understand who could commit such a crime," Norhayati said.

She said she had accompanied Norliza to buy food to break fast and other household items on Thursday evening.

Norliza had also bought bus tickets as she had planned to leave for Tumpat, Kelantan, last night.

She said Norliza, whose husband works in Egypt, was excited about returning home to celebrate Hari Raya.

"I was looking forward to meeting her at school this morning to bid her farewell but was surprised when she did not turn up. I became a little worried when told that even Amirul was absent," she said.

She then called Norliza on her mobile phone several times but there was no response. She also tried calling Amirul but he too did not take her calls.

Norhayati decided to walk to Norliza's flat located across the road from the school. The front door was locked and there was no response when she called out Norliza's name.

"I returned and told the headmaster what happened. Both of us then went to her flat," she said.

Port Dickson OCPD Supt Baljeet Singh said there were no signs of forced entry.

"The flat was also not ransacked. We are still investigating the cause of death as the victims did not have any external injuries," he said, adding that based on neighbours' testimonies, the duo may have died between 4pm and 5pm on Thursday.

A neighbour said he heard Amirul scream around that time but did not think anything of it.

Norliza's brother-in-law, Mohd Nazmi Awang Besar, 32, a teacher at SK Bukit Saujana near here, said he last met Norliza several days ago.

"I had asked when she planned to go back to Tumpat. She seemed excited and told me that she planned to return several days earlier due to the school holidays," he said.

Mohd Nazmi said he had notified his brother of the incident and that he was already making arrangements to return from Egypt.

Residents here say the area around Flet Shahbandar was a hangout for drug addicts and foreigners.