Although police have yet to confirm whether the body is related to the missing couple case, news of their disappearance was widely shared on Facebook after their relatives started posting news and photos of them, seeking help from the public to locate them.
It was learnt that the couple had left home on Friday night for a short trip to a supermarket in Kolombong to buy rice and diapers in a Perodua Axia with the registration number SAC1559C, leaving their three-month-old child to the care of their aunt whom they have been staying with.
The couple however failed to return home after a few hours, leading relatives to fear that something untoward had happened to them.
As the post went viral on Saturday, gaining over a thousand reactions and 'shares', more stories started to emerge after a separate post on the discovery of a vehicle somewhere at Bukit Kimanis yesterday morning disclosed that it was believed to be the one the couple had used at the time of their disappearance.
It was also claimed that the body of the husband was found inside the vehicle with multiple stab wounds, but the wife was still missing.
A check with Papar police chief OCPD George Rakman revealed yesterday that the body of the 38-year-old rental car driver, Chan Ibba Aminulhassan, was found at Jalan Kimanis-Keningau yesterday.
"We received information from the public at about 10:43am (yesterday) saying that a man was found dead in a silver Perodua Axia at Jalan Kimanis-Keningau from the direction of Papar-Keningau (Kilometre 47).
"The victim was found on the driver's seat wearing a white t-shirt and orange shorts, with the car's key still attached to the ignition, and the victim's wallet containing identification and cash still with him.
"There were wounds found on the victim's body, believed to be stabbed, on his chest, left rib and abdomen," said George in a tex reply to The Borneo Post yesterday.
He added that police believed the case to be revenge-related based on initial investigations.
Although police did not confirm the link between the vehicle and body's recovery to the missing couple, he urged relatives as well as the public who may have any relevant information to come forward to the nearest police station to help with the investigation.
Meanwhile, a contact to the phone number posted on Facebook after their disappearance led to the woman's cousin, Siti Nuraliza Lanjibu, 18, whose family the couple were allegedly staying with before their disappearance.
Siti disclosed that her cousin, Nurain, had gone to the Giant supermarket in Kolombong with her husband to buy diapers and rice about 9pm on Friday, and subsequently went missing after not being able to be contacted a couple of hours after that.
Siti's brother, Alkim Zaimi said that they were informed by a passer-by who had seen the viral post on Facebook and was on the way from Keningau to Kota Kinabalu when they spotted a Perodua Axia with the said registration number somewhere along Bukit Kimanis.
"I was informed that they had passed by that area at about 4am this morning (yesterday) and we went there to check whether it's my cousin and her husband's car at about 8am. It turned out to be theirs but I did not dare go close as it looked suspicious, with a part of the car's registration number covered. So we went to the Papar police station instead, " said Alkim when contaced yesterday.
Upon returning to the said location, he added, they found the body of his cousin's husband inside the vehicle, with stab wounds.
Posts of the vehicle's discovery had also gone viral, with netizens expressing shock and sadness over the discovery, offering words of comfort to the couple's family members and hope that the woman would be found soon and safely.
It was also alleged that the man's elder brother was reported missing since January and has yet to be found.
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