JUST three days before she was bludgeoned to death, cosmetics millionaire Sosilawati Lawiya bought gold bars worth RM5million (S$2.1 million).

Her sudden move caught the bank by surprise.

One person who witnessed the purchase told Utusan Malaysia that Ms Sosilawati, 47, did the transaction at a bank in Kuala Lumpur.

The source said she was seen visiting the bank with a female friend and two men believed to be her bodyguards.

"Before going to the bank, Datuk Sosilawati was understood to have gone to a branch to buy RM5 million (S$2.1 million) worth of gold bars."

"After making payment, she brought the purchase receipt to the bank at Jalan Sultan Sulaiman as only that bank is allowed to keep and issue gold bars," the source told the Malay-language daily.

Each gold bar weighs 1kg, the source was reported as saying.

The source added that her visit to the bank attracted a lot of attention.

The transaction was done in a hurry.

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Usually, a customer who wants to buy gold bars will contact the bank in advance to place a booking to speed up the process.

"But...she did not contact the bank. Instead, she walked in and brought a receipt for RM5million (S$2.1 million) worth of gold bars.

"Because of this, she had to wait for over an hour for the bank to process her request and hand her the gold bars," the source was reported as saying.

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» More may have been killed

Ms Sosilawati, who founded the popular Nouvelle Visages line of cosmetics,was reported missing on Aug 30, along with her driver Kamarudin Shansudin, 44, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, and bank officer Noorhisham Mohammad, 38.

They were going to discuss a land deal in the central Selangor town of Banting, reported the New Straits Times.

It is believed that the deal turned sour and all four were eventually held at a poultry farm.

They were later allegedly beaten to death and their remains burnt to ashes using cow dung as an accelerant, Malaysian police said.

The police have arrested eight suspects, including two brothers who are lawyers.

CID director Bakri Zinin said police are trying to determine if the suspects had taken anything from Ms Solsilawati.

Ms Sosilawati's eldest daughter, Ms Erni Dekritawati Yuliana Buhari, had claimed that her mother took with her a huge amount of money for the Banting meeting.

Various theories abound over what transpired before the four were killed.

One version has it that Ms Sosilawati wanted her money back after she learned about alleged fraud involving the land in Penang she had planned to buy.

Another is that the lawyers, one of whom is a Datuk, got angry with her when she did not bring along the agreed amount.

Whatever the motive was, it is of scant comfort to her children.

An hour before the official announcement of their mother's death, Ms Sosilawati's children were still clinging to hope that their mother could still be alive.

Ms Erni, 25, told reporters outside their home on Sunday afternoon that she was still hoping for her mother's safe return.

"I heard the news of my mother and the three others on television and via newspapers but we are still praying that it is not true," she said.

Later, in an SMS sent to the media, she said: "If the news of my mother('s death) is true, then we would be very sad and would offer prayers for her."

Ms Sosilawati's fourth daughter Rina said she wanted to see her mother's remains for herself.

"If it is true that my mother is gone, show us the body," she said.

When The New Paper contacted Ms Erni yesterday, it was evident that the news of her mother's death had already sunk in.

Ms Erni said: "It's really hard for me. I really need the space, hope you understand."

But she did say that her mother was strict but caring.

"She also liked to donate to the needy," she added.

Ms Sosilawati had led a colourful and sometimes controversial life.

In her younger days, while living in Batu Pahat in Johor, she worked as a rubber tapper to help her family.

She had 13 siblings, reported The Malay Mail.

She eventually completed her studies and went on to work as a secretary at a bank. She married the bank manager and had six kids.

She got divorced after 12 years.

Ms Sosilawati then worked as a cosmetics agent to support her children.

She slowly saved enough money to start a cosmetics company, Nouvelle Beauty Centre, in 1994.

Within 10 years, she had 300 stores throughout the country. Her products are sold in Brunei, Singapore and Thailand.

She and daughter Erni were the directors of the company which had total assets of RM6.37 million (S$2.7 million).

Despite rising in the business world, her sister Ms Rosnani said Ms Sosilawati did not forget her roots.

"She was a darling in the family and ever generous. She did not want to see us poor forever. Many of us prospered through her efforts in providing financial assistance and jobs," she said.

Ms Sosilawati married rock singer Nashrudin Elias, better known as Nash, from the group Lefthanded, in a glitzy wedding in Batu Pahat on Nov 16, 2006.

They divorced later.

In 2007, Ms Sosilawati was convicted of being in possession of a scheduled poison.

She was caught for khalwat (close proximity) on New Year's Day this year, but claimed she had got married, in Thailand, to the Indonesian man she was found with.