KUALA LUMPUR: Police are looking into the possibility that the killing of a man outside a restaurant here was a "gang hit".
A source close to the investigation said the victim, 40, might have been targeted by a gang over information he provided to the authorities.
The source said one secret society emerging in the investigation was Ngo Seik Kee, or the "5 Colour" gang.
The gang is understood to be involved in drugs and repossessing cars.
In 2020, Johor police launched a manhunt for its leader and members in connection with the murder of a car repossessor known as Ram.
Ram's body was found in a ditch along the North-South Highway in Kulai with slash wounds to his head and body.
It was reported that the victim in Wednesday's shooting had been questioned by the police last May.
The man was shot four times around noon while having lunch with friends. He had walked out of the restaurant to take a call before the broad daylight attack took place.
A 30-second closed-circuit television camera footage of the shooting shows a man wearing a light blue windbreaker and black crash helmet walking towards the victim before whipping out a gun and firing several shots into his back. Although the victim collapsed, the suspect continued shooting before fleeing the scene.
Johor police chief Datuk M. Kumar said the shooting was an isolated incident and not indicative of broader safety concerns in Johor.
He said police had formed a special team from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to investigate the case.