25-Year-Old Penang Employee Kills His Colleague After Working Alone In A Room For 2 Years
He did not display any suspicious behaviour.
By Tamara Jayne — 26 Sep 2019, 03:27 PM
On 24 September, a 25-year-old man killed his colleague and injured another staff member at a factory in Bayan Lepas, Penang
Armed with two parangs and a knife, the man went on a rampage at the B. Braun Medical Industries factory.
According to Coconuts KL, the man was looking for more victims when police arrived at the scene and shot him dead.
The first victim, who died at the hospital, was a 47-year-old female supervisor
PenangKini reported that she had suffered fatal cuts to her head, neck, and hands.
His second victim was a man, who also suffered injuries but was hospitalised and is in stable condition.
The suspect had been absent from work for about a week before he went in to hand over his resignation letter
According to other employees, the suspect had acted "normal" and did not display any suspicious behaviour, Coconuts KL reported.
During the incident, police had attempted to calm the suspect down. However, it was reported that he had charged at them.
Investigators later confirmed that the man had been suffering from depression in recent months after having spent two years working in an isolated room at the factory.
Employers have since been urged to look out for employees' mental health because focus is often placed on productivity instead of staff well-being
"[Work-related] stress is often overlooked," said Associate Professor Dr Ng Chong Guan of Universiti Malaya, as reported by theSundaily.
"Too much focus has been placed on the productivity of employees' work, at the expense of their health," he added, in response to the recent incident.
"Men do not like to seek help so they eventually break down – physically and mentally."
