Shades Of James Bond In Food Caterer's Killing

JOHOR BAHARU, Nov 3 -- James Bond's latest outing 'Quantum of Solace' may not have hit our cinema screens yet, but the murder of a food caterer appears to have shaken and stirred the imagination of some residents.Tan Cha Boh, 54, was found dead in the back alleys of Taman Nira in Batu Pahat, early yesterday.He had a single gunshot wound in the head.Police investigators said initial investigations revealed the killer was armed with a Walther PPK, the favoured handgun of the fictional secret agent 007.This followed the discovery of a 7.65mm slug in the victim's head, and four spent bullets at the scene.About 2.40am, residents heard Tan arguing with a man in the back alleys when several gunshots rang out. They then alerted the police."We found the victims body in a pool of blood at one of the alleys...he was shot in the head and had died on the spot," said Batu Pahat police chief ACP Ibrahim Aris.From information gathered from the residents, he said the victim was embroiled in an argument with another man before several shots were fired.Ibrahim said the residents told the police that they saw a man escaping from the alley in a silver Kancil car after the shooting.The police have not ruled out financial problems and revenge as the motive of the murder.In another development, the police are tracking down a man believed to have headed a ring of motorcycle thieves in Kulaijaya.Eleven suspected members of the ring were nabbed during a police blitz in the district on Oct 15.Kulaijaya police chief Supt Zulkefly Yahya said the syndicate was linked to several thefts in the district, Seri Alam, Kluang and Simpang Renggam.Meanwhile, the police want to contact Mohd Jufri Mohamad alias Jeff, 33, to facilitate investigations into the thefts.His last known address was in Felda Taib Andak.

Goosen Triumphs In Johor Baharu

JOHOR BAHARU, Nov 3 -- Retief Goosen's majestic final round with an eagle included, brought him victory in the Iskandar Johor Open at the Royal Johor Country Club here Sunday.Going into the decisive round with four strokes adrift overnight leader Niclas Fasth, the 39-year-old Goosen came good with a fourth round six under 66 for a total of 276.It was a score the rest could only gasp in admiration. Thailand's Thaworn Wirachant's final round of 71 gave him a total of 278 and good enough for the runner-up spot.Niclas, the Swedish pro and a 14-time winner on the European Tour, saw his slender one-stroke lead disappeare in the rain and his three over 75 today made things worse.He ended up with a four-round total of 281 to finish joint fourth with two others, Andrew Dodt of Australia and Malaysia's Iain Steel with Australian Ken Webber third on 279.Goosen's performance on a day when play was halted for an hour and a half because of rain, provided the clubhouse's talking point which was centred around his eagle 3 on the Par 5 4th hole and the four other birdies along the way which obviously helped on his road to victory.The two-time US Open winner had taken the lead by the 11th hole and from then on, he was on fire and it was all left to Goosen to continue his triumph and the US$79,250 winner's cheque."It's nice to win again after almost 18 months without a victory. It means a lot to me. At least, I have managed to pick up one win every year since 1995."But it was a lot of hard work, too. The heat, the tricky course and some strong opposition. But in the end, it all came good for me," said Goosen whose last win was the Qatar Masters in January last year.Steel, who finished joint fourth can now afford a little celebration.A US$19,000 pay cheque and a strong finish meant that he can look forward to the remainder of the season with confidence."I should be happy with my performance. I did what I had to do but there was nothing I could do to the rest. I told myself I have a shot at the title but when the others played better, good luck to them," said the Sabah born Steel.Malaysia's other best finisher was Danny Chia on joint 9th and Ben Leong on joint 14th.276- Retief Goosen (SA) 72-69-69-66; 278- Thaworn Wirachant (Tha) 69-69-69-71; Kane Webber (Aus)279- 68-71-70-70;281- Andrew Dodt (Aus) 71-71-69-70, Richard Moir (Aus), 69-71-70-71, Iain Steel(Mas) 70-69-70-72, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 68-68-70-75, Mitchell Brown(Aus) 67-69- 72-73;282- Unho Park(Aus) 73-72-70-67, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 71-70-73-68, Danny Chia(Mas) 75-70-69-68, Yasin Ali (Eng)73-72-69-68,Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 71-66-73-72.