As the country’s population grows bigger and succumbed to the curses of development, more and more firsts are beginning to happen. These include crimes and other bizarre incidents.
First murder by shotgun – In the 1980s, the feud between two local plantation workers ended in tragedy when one of them shot dead the other using a shotgun. Both men were employed under the Syarikat Perusahaan Montrio, a Japanese company working on large scale tapioca plantation at Kg. Sinaut, Tutong. It was said that the fighting was over the allegation that one of the men was having an affair with the other’s wife. The killer had acquired the shotgun from Limbang. He was sentenced to death. Those who remember this case refer to it as the “murder on the hill” given that the plantation where the killing occurred was located on a hill.
First murder of employer’s baby by a domestic helper – In 1991, a domestic helper killed her employer’s 18-months old baby by hacking the baby’s neck with a butcher knife. The killing happened less than 24-hours after the domestic helper reported for duty at the employer’s house in Tutong.[Twist of Fate]
First dead body found at garbage dumping site – In 1996, a man got the shock of his life when while throwing his trash at the Binturan camp garbage dump site, he saw a dead body of a man lying among the heaps of trash. The body was badly bruised that seemed to be the result of multiple blows and struck by a blunt object. The man was beaten to death with excessive brutality. [Scorned]
First sensational spouse killing case – In 1997, a man was stabbed to death by his wife. I stand corrected, but relying on my memory, the victim was the owner of the Seri Meradun Restaurant who at that time had two wives. The wife who eventually killed him was his second wife, a Thai national. Digging further through those who remember the case, it was said that she stabbed him after a heated argument over money. She was convicted and sent to jail. I’m yet to find out how long was the jail term. But one thing for sure, she is already out of jail and ironically is currently running the same restaurant previously owned by her late husband that she killed. Question – Why was she not deported after being released from jail??
First armed robbery that caused death – In 1997, a gang robbery at the Tiong Hin Superstore in broad daylight killed one of the family members of the store’s owner. He was shot. The robbers were said to be security guards. Established in 1988, the store never recovered after the incident and the premise closed down in 2003. What happened to the robbers? They were arrested, 3 of them (two locals and one foreigner), currently still in jail serving a life sentence. What kind of weapons were used (guns?) and how did they acquire them?? Upon probing further (asking around), I’ve been told that the perpetrators or one of them were/was police personnel. If this was the case, that would explain the gun.
First dead body found in shallow grave – On 30 July 2000, some children chasing a kite saw a hand protruding from the ground and discovered a decomposing body of a female buried in a shallow grave in a jungle area in Tungku, not far from JIS and DST Complex. Police later released photos of the clothes that she was wearing at time of death in the hope of getting her identity. She was wearing a blue T-Shirt with the logo G5001 and blue jeans of LONA brand. Ive not come across any updates on this case. [Buried Secrets]
First case of spouse murder by poisoning. [I said first case because there could be other murders by poisoning before this that were just ruled as deaths by natural causes] – In April 2001, a 46-year-old mother in Kg Padnunok, Tutong poisoned her 43-year-old husband, with whom by the way she had 10 children. After being hospitalised for 25 days, the husband succumbed to his condition and passed away. Her reason? She couldn’t stand the constant physical and emotional abuse that she and her kids had been subjected to by the husband. [Last Straw]
First abduction from a basement parking – In 2003, armed men abducted a 34-year-old woman from the Badi’ah building basement parking. She was robbed, assaulted and was left tied up around a tree somewhere in the forested area near Kg Bukit Panggal in Tutong. She was badly hurt but luckily was found alive by family members. The men were quickly arrested and all were handed down heavy sentences. Lets just say that they are all still in jail today. It was considered as one of the horrific crimes ever committed in the country. The machete that they used during the abduction is one of the exhibits on display at the police museum.
First heinous triple murder – In 2004, a couple and their two year old daughter were murdered at their home in Kg Serusop. I remember this case very well since the murdered wife was my high school senior and the house was located behind our hostel building. What made this case more heinous is that justice was never served because the murderer went free. Take a crime scene that was so compromised and combine it with defence lawyers with zero conscience, an evil killer walked free. This is a guy who smothered an innocent two year old toddler with a pillow, and brutally beat to death the couple with whom he was acquainted allegedly over money. Anyways, years later, even his smart ass lawyers could not save him from karma. He died of natural causes. Or was it really natural causes? Rumours that went around alleged that he was poisoned.
First horrific double homicide – In 2007, a married couple were murdered at their very home in Kg Telamba, Tutong. Their throats were slashed. The husband’s body was found inside the house, and the wife’s body were lying on the ground a few feet outside. Sadly, those responsible were never brought to justice. The people of the Kampong alleged that the murderers are juveniles from the Kampong as well [Presumed guilty until proven innocent]. In their 30s now, they still live among them, scot-free. I hope they have nightmares every night for the rest of their lives. [In Plain Sight]
First multiple casualties from gas explosion – At about midday on 30 December 2008, a gas explosion ripped through a seafood-processing factory in Serasa which killed 3 foreign workers and injured 16 others. Upon investigation, it was revealed that the workers were trying to install a spiral freezer system using ammonia as the refrigerant and in the process of testing, the ammonia tank ruptured causing the explosion. 32 workers were inside the plant at the time of the explosion. Nearby residents could hear the sound and felt the vibration of the blast.
First carbon monoxide poisoning in vehicle – In 2012, two locals, a 24 year old man and a 22 year old woman, were found dead in a saloon car at the Hwa Ho Manggis Mall basement parking. It was later announced that the two were victims of carbon monoxide poisoning. Those two were said to be students from a nearby technical college. Other than that there were not much details about the deceased or the model of car they were in.
First dead body appearing at random place – In 2013, a dead body of a man was found inside an electric substation near the Seri Kemayan Restaurant at Batu 1. There was no followup information (at least to my knowledge) on who the dead man was, what killed him, how did the body get there.
First social media murder – In 2015, a 43-year old local man was murdered at Jalan Pandan 7, Kuala Belait District. Two men lured the victim by posing as a girl on the AsiaFreeChat mobile chat platform who offered sex for $3,500. The intention was once the victim took the bait, they would kill him and take his money. After killing the man, they discovered that there was no money with him. They took his ATM card only to discover that the account was empty. Could the victim have sensed that it was a bogus deal? Or he never planned to pay anything for the sex. Either way, he totally didn’t expect that he was dealing with psychopaths. [Poisonous Encounter]
First double kidnapping and murder – In 2017, a 73 year old woman and her 23 year old adopted daughter, which were reported missing, were found dead by the roadsides at two different locations. The body of the 73 year old woman was found at the Bukit Panggal area, while the 23 year old was found at Kampong Dadap in Kilanas. Their bodies were found a week after they were last seen alive. The locations of their bodies were revealed by a 25 year old drug addict local who was found driving the victims’ car days after the women were reported missing. The sad thing is that a day before the women went missing, the drug addict had attacked a man with a knife at Batu Satu. Had he been apprehended then, the two women may not have had their lives senselessly taken by the idiot. The words that went around at that time were that the two women when last seen were on their way to go to Bandar for the Golden Jubilee celebration. Very disheartening. And if the information that they were strangled to death was true, it is very sad to imagine how helpless the elderly woman was to even put up a fight. Question – has he been convicted or the trial is still going on??
First robbery on passenger by people who offered the passenger a lift. I don’t know the fancy name for this kind of crime yet. But I do know that I’ve not heard about such crime happening in Brunei before until I read about it in the newspaper recently – On 15 June 2019, two local men, ages 29 and 28, offered a man a ride from Mentiri to BSB for $1 (obvious red flag). Along the way, they stopped the car and robbed the man at knifepoint. Both were arrested a day later. It was not surprising that both were unemployed. They even grinned when their mugshots were taken. My guess is that they are happy about going to jail and the prospects of free meals.
First death by elevator – On 06 May 2020, a foreign worker died from severe head injuries when he was crushed by a cargo elevator at the Pertama Jaya Department Store in Jerudong.
First maid murder by employer – In October 2020, it finally happened, a foreign domestic helper was brutally murdered by her employer. Over the years, a number of foreign domestic helpers in the country were subjected to physical torture by their employers, being denied their salaries and all. But, being murdered? Not in anyone’s wildest imagination.
First case where a man attacked and inflicted permanent injuries to a victim, at the victim’s home, caught on CCTV, but just got away with a fine – In February 2019, Lance Corporal Amzar of the RBAF came to the victim’s home uninvited, beat the crap out of the victim unprovoked, put the victim on a chokehold, flailing him around like a rag doll. It was a bloody attack and the act was caught on CCTV recording which was passed to the police for evidence. In 2021, Lance Corporal Amzar was just fined $3000 for the attack, didn’t spend a day in jail and now still serving in the military. [No Just-Ease]
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