GEORGE TOWN: Penang police have arrested a man suspected of murdering his mother in an apartment in Relau this afternoon.

Northeast district police chief ACP Razlam Ab Hamid said that the 40-year-old suspect, believed to have mental health issues, was apprehended at the residence after police received information about the incident from the suspect’s brother.

The suspect reportedly contacted his brother around 5 pm to inform him that he had stabbed their 67-year-old mother with a pair of scissors.

“Based on preliminary investigations, before the incident, the victim’s two sons (including the suspect’s brother) had tried to call their mother but received no response.

“However, they were shocked when the suspect called to inform them that he had stabbed their mother with a pair of scissors and that she had died,“ he said today.

According to Razlam, investigations also revealed that the victim visited the apartment, which belonged to her late husband, three days a week -- from Fridays to Sundays -- while on other days she stayed with her eldest child in Batu Maung.

Further investigations also found that the suspect had previously threatened to kill all his family members and had received psychiatric treatment last year.