Epidemiological Profiles of Murders and Murder Victims in Peninsular Malaysia from 2007 to 2011 as Reported by a Newspaper

Abstract

A five year (2007-2011) retrospective study on murder and murder victims in Peninsular Malaysia was carried out to build epidemiological profiles of victims and explore several mechanical profiles of murder. The data were based on reported murder incidents in Peninsular Malaysia by one of the local newspaper (News Straits Times). Throughout the five years, males outnumbered females as victims of murder. The age group most affected was 20 to 29 years old (23.3%) and the highest prevalence was among the Indian ethnic group (22.6%). The majority of the victims were local people. Most of the incidents involved single persons (92.6%) as murder victims. Most of the incidents occurred either between 6.00 pm and 12.00 am (30.2%) or between 12.01 am and 6.00 am (18.2%). The incidents appeared to frequently occur at home (36.6%), although most of the bodies were recovered in remote areas (43.5%) such as cemeteries and isolated estates. Sharp objects (31.0%) and sharp force trauma (30.1%) were the most preferred murder weapon and cause of deaths. The chest and abdomen (31.1%) were the most targeted body parts in killing victims, followed by the head (20.3%). This study also revealed expressive motivation (31.6%) as the apparent dominating cause of murder compared to instrumental motivation (19.4%). The emerged profiles were discussed in relation to murder, criminology and victimology contexts.