MUAR: Police are not ruling out negligence in the ongoing investigation into a house fire that claimed the lives of in Kampung Sabok Awor here on Wednesday.
Muar District police chief Assistant Commissioner Raiz Mukhlis Azman Aziz said the join investigation with the Fire and Rescue Department will examine all aspects and determine the next course of action, which would include handing over the investigation papers to the deputy public prosecutor if there is an element of negligence or an unintentional crime.
"We are waiting for the forensic investigations and post mortem results to further facilitate our investigations," Raiz Mukhlis said when met at the Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital's Forensic Department.
Investigators believe that a short-circuit in the kitchen caused the 7.49pm fire.
The four children were believed to have died of smoke inhalation as their remains were not charred.
The victims were alone in the house. Their bodies were found huddled together in the toilet when firefighters inspected the house after putting out the blaze.
The children - two girls and two boys - have been identified as Puteri Aisyah Tenko To, 8; her brothers Mohd Hakim, 6, and Mustakim, 4; and three-year-old Fatihah Aisyah.
Their mother Nabila Sedu, 31, is an Orang Asli from Kuala Selangor, while her 30-year-old Myanmar-national husband Thein Ko Htut, had been renting the house, which was made of planks with bricks as its base, for the past four years.
Raiz Mukhlis said both parents did not have any criminal records while Thein Ko Htut had valid documentation.
The fire broke out after Nabila had left the children at home for 10 minutes to go to a sundry shop nearby.
Her husband was at work at a restaurant when her neighbour informed her that their house was on fire.
Raiz Mukhlis urged parents to advocate safety measures when children are left alone at home.
He said parents should teach their children how to leave the home in case of an emergency, like showing them where the keys are kept, how to unlock the doors and seek help.
He said it was an unfortunate tragedy as the children were believed to have hid in the toilet to escape the fire.
It is learnt the family did not own a television set nor any electrical appliances. Nabila did however leave the lights on before she went to the shops.
The house was 80 per cent destroyed by the time firefighters arrived at the scene 20 minutes later following the distress call, which was placed at 7.49pm.