GEORGE TOWN, MALAYSIA - The car dealer who was burnt to death at a showroom in Jalan Mesjid Negri here had also been stabbed and beaten by his assailants.

Police believe the eight luxury cars worth RM2mil were stolen on Sunday and not early Monday when the Rahman Brothers showroom was torched, with showroom assistant manager Lim Hooi Huah trapped inside.

A post-mortem revealed that Lim had been stabbed in the neck and beaten up before the robbers set fire to the double-storey bungalow.

There were also injuries on his head, believed to have been caused by a blunt object.

"We believe that the attack, fire and robbery were committed by the same group of people," OCPD Asst Comm Azam Abd Hamid said yesterday.

Police are trying to determine why the group returned to the showroom several hours after driving off with the luxury cars.

ACP Azam said they were looking at all angles, including the possibility that Lim had to be silenced as he could have identified his assailants.

"We have witnesses who said they spotted the stolen vehicles parked at an apartment car park in Paya Terubong as early as 8pm on Sunday. The showroom was only torched at about 4am the next day," said ACP Azam.

Seven of the eight cars were recovered on Monday evening, about 12 hours after the fire. A Mercedes CLS350, BMW and two Toyota Alphards were found hidden in the car park while two other BMWs and a Toyota Alphard were found at a workshop in Jalan Kampung Pisang.

The workshop owner has been arrested and remanded for a week.

ACP Azam said they were now trying to trace the remaining car - a Toyota Caldina.

"We have identified the mastermind of the robbery gang and are looking for Ooi Tat Beng, 24, to help in investigations," he added.

Those who know of Ooi's whereabouts or have seen him are urged to contact district CID chief DSP Sharifuddin Abdullah (04-2181 822 ext 1825), investigating officer ASP Ibrahim Hussain (ext 1830), or the RakanCop hotline (04-2691 999).