SIBU: A man was killed and his female partner injured in a dramatic movie-like shooting around midnight on Saturday when six persons including the woman were about to leave a coffee shop opposite Catholic High School at Lanang Road here after supper.

In the 11.15pm incident, both Ting Meng Min and his Chinese national companion Xiao Fen were shot at and collapsed onto the ground.

The 30-year-old man from Sibu, who operated a pub in Miri, died an hour after he was rushed to a private specialist hospital while Xiao who suffered a shot on her left arm was hospitalised. Ting had gunshot wounds on his left chest, left arm and back.

Sibu police chief ACP Mohd Kamal Kordi confirmed the shooting as the second murder case here in a week and police were investigating it under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

“The police are investigating the murder in the aspects of gangsterism, revenge and business rivalry. We are going all out on this high profile case.”

Before the incident, Ting and Xiao were sitting with two of Ting’s bodyguards who were armed with a pistol and two friends at a table in the coffee shop’s roofed corridor near the back lane. They were standing up to leave after paying for their late night meal when a white Hilux with three men inside pulled up from the back lane.

An eye-witness said the driver of the car then fired several shots at Ting and Xiao Fen who both fell to the ground. Ting’s bodyguard returned fire six to seven times and it was believed that the shots hit two passengers as the car sped off, but police could not confirm this yet.

Photographs of the aftermath of the shooting went viral on the Internet shortly, and netizens were questioning whether the shooting was linked to an illegal drug trade.

The police have indicated they are probing the case along that line but ruled out netizens’ claim that the murder is linked to the recent assault case over a beer bill of RM230 in a pub.

Meanwhile, police were informed of the shooting at 11.25pm.

As the CID rushed over, other teams immediately set up road blocks up to Mile 12, Oya Road to trace the car.

They have taken in three persons to help in their probe.

As Ting was operating a pub in Miri, he seldom returned to Sibu.

His wife and two children – a four-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son – are staying in Ulu Sungai Merah.

He returned on Friday and was seen taking his children to a shopping complex that night, accompanied by his bodyguards.

The police have found several spent bullets at the scene and confirmed that Ting’s bodyguard’s pistol was licensed.

The first murder of the year occurred last Monday when a homeless man was found dead in a car park shed in Island Road from several blows to his head.

The case has been solved.