JOHOR BARU, May 17 — A suspected Jemaah Islamiah (JI) member was believed to have attacked the Ulu Tiram police station here today in an attempt to seize weapons stored there, said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain

He said items recovered from the slain attacker indicated that the attack had been planned out.

"From our investigations, we found that the suspect had brought along a bag containing an armour plate and other paraphernalia in preparation to clash with the police.

"Investigators believe that the suspect’s attack was to forcefully obtain the policemen’s firearm for a yet to be determined agenda.

"We have ordered the police Special Branch to identify and arrest the known JI members in Johor,” said Razarudin in a press conference at the Ulu Tiram police station near here today.

Also present were Johor police chief M. Kumar and other senior officers.

The JI terror group is a Southeast Asian Islamist militant group based in Indonesia and has dedicated itself to forming an Islamic caliphate.

The group was believed to be behind the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia.

Razarudin said the attack on the policemen occurred at 2.30am when two tertiary students, a man and woman aged 22 and 21, went to lodge a report on a molest incident two years ago.

At the same time, he said the suspect, armed with a machete, arrived at the police station’s compound on motorcycle.

"The suspect then slashed the policeman on guard duty several times in the neck before seizing his weapon.

"Another policeman came to his comrade’s aid before the suspect fatally shot him,” he said, adding the slain policemen were aged 21 and 22 and were from Kuantan, Pahang and Bidor, Perak.

Razarudin said another policeman was also injured after a firefight with the suspect whom he shot and killed.

He said the the third policeman was in stable condition at the Sultan Ismail Hospital (HSI) here.

"Following the incident, police arrested seven individuals, including five members of the suspect's family aged 19 to 62.

"This includes the young couple who were earlier at the police station to lodge a report,” he said, adding that the couple’s facts had discrepancies and were suspects.

Razarudin said initial investigations revealed that the suspect’s father is a member of a JI faction in Ulu Tiram.

He said the police Special Branch has identified 20 more JI operatives in Johor.

The last time a policeman was brutally attacked was at the Pinggiran USJ police station in Subang Jaya, Selangor in August 2017.

In the tragedy, Lance Corporal Valentino Mesa was found dead by colleagues at 3.30am after they returned from a routine patrol.

The deceased was slashed in the head before being shot.

His assailant was believed to have used Valentino’s own service weapon to shoot him.