The Psychology of Murder Concealment Acts

Mohammad Rahim Kamaluddin, Naji Arafat Mahat, Geshina Ayu Mat Saat, Azizah Othman, Ian Lloyd Anthony, Sowmya Kumar, Suzaily Wahab, Saravanan Meyappan, Balan Rathakrishnan and Fauziah Ibrahim
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Mohammad Rahim Kamaluddin: Centre for Research in Psychology and Human Well-Being, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia
Naji Arafat Mahat: Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia
Geshina Ayu Mat Saat: Forensic Science Programme, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Malaysia
Azizah Othman: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Malaysia
Ian Lloyd Anthony: Forensic Psychiatry Unit, Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta, Ipoh 30000, Malaysia
Sowmya Kumar: Criminology Department, Karunya University, Coimbatore 641114, India
Suzaily Wahab: Psychiatry Department, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysian Medical Centre, Cheras 56000, Malaysia
Saravanan Meyappan: Kuala Lumpur Magistrates Court (Criminal Division), Kuala Lumpur 50480, Malaysia
Balan Rathakrishnan: Faculty of Psychology and Education, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia
Fauziah Ibrahim: Centre for Research in Psychology and Human Well-Being, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: The escalating trend of murder victim concealment worldwide appears worrying, and literature does not reveal any specific study focusing on victim concealment amongst convicted male Malaysian murderers. Therefore, this study was aimed at investigating the psychological traits that may underlie the act of murder concealment in Malaysia via mixed method approaches. Male murderers ( n = 71) from 11 prisons were selected via purposive sampling technique. In the quantitative analysis, a cross-sectional study design using the validated questionnaire was used. The questionnaire contained murder concealment variables and four Malay validated psychometric instruments measuring: personality traits, self-control, aggression, and cognitive distortion. The independent sample t -tests revealed the significantly higher level of anger in murderers who did not commit concealment acts (8.55 ± 2.85, p < 0.05) when compared with those who did so (6.40 ± 2.64). Meanwhile, the Kruskal–Wallis H test revealed that anger and the personality trait of aggressiveness-hostility significantly varied across the different groups of murder concealment acts ( p < 0.05). The qualitative data obtained via the in-depth interviews revealed two important themes for the murderers to commit murder concealment acts: (1) fear of discovery and punishment and (2) blaming others. These findings discussed from the perspectives of the murderers within the context of criminology and psychology may provide the first ever insight into the murder concealment acts in Malaysia that can benefit the relevant authorities for crime prevention and investigation efforts.

Keywords: murder; murder victim concealment act; psychological traits; postmortem burning; dumping (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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