KUANTAN: Housewife Nurul Diyana Mohd Shukri has been left baffled upon receiving the news of the sudden death of her husband Muhammad Izzat Abdul Wahab in Myanmar on Oct 14.
Izzat, 28, believed to be a victim of a job fraud syndicate, had been tricked to travel to Bangkok, Thailand on Oct 7 before he was rescued by a non-governmental organisation(NGO) who handed him to Myanmar immigration. He allegedly died while in detention at the immigration centre on Oct 14.
Mother-of-two Nurul Diyana said she received a telephone call about 11pm on Oct 14 from a man claiming to be representing a NGO based in Malaysia informing about Izzat's death.
"The man told me that they(NGO) managed to rescue my husband from the syndicate (job scam) but he later died at the immigration centre due to heart issues....he shared a video and some images of my husband who appeared to be lifeless. The man told me that he retrieved my contact number from my husband's phone.
"I was shocked....I informed my husband's siblings and they checked with the Malaysian embassy in Myanmar before informing the news about my husband's death was genuine. My husband was a healthy man and he had never complained of any heart problems," she said when met at her in-laws house at Kampung Peramu here today.
Speaking on her husband's trip, Nurul Diyana, 27, said Izzat had befriended an individual on social media who sponsored his flight tickets from Kuantan to Thailand on Oct 7.
"My husband told me he had to travel to Bangkok for three days to collect vehicle spare parts. He flew on business class from Kuantan to Kuala Lumpur at 10am and later missed his connecting flight to Bangkok but was sponsored another ticket to fly in economy class (by the social media friend).
"When my husband called me from Kuala Lumpur International Airport informing that he had missed the flight to Bangkok, I told him that I sensed something amiss about the trip....I wanted him to abandon his plans and return to Kuantan but he continued the journey.
"He sent me a voice note about 11pm informing that he was already in Bangkok. He used to regularly call and speak to me but I could no longer contact him on Oct 11 so I lodged a police report at the Kuantan police headquarters the following day," she said, adding the news about Izzat's death came two days later.
Nurul Diyana said Izzat did not inform any of his family members about the trip to Thailand except for her and she was worried as he was travelling alone.
"We have been to Bangkok for holidays as a family, but this is his first trip alone. I did inform him about the job scam activities and was worried that he might become a victim but he assured me that he was safe at a hotel in Bangkok. He told me not to worry and will return to Malaysia in 10 days," Nurul Diyana said, adding she was clueless how Izzat ended up in Myanmar.
Meanwhile, Izzat's brother Muhammad Hasmalizam, 45, said he received a telephone call from the NGO's representative claiming that his brother had contacted them to help rescue him from a hotel in Myanmar.
"I received a call about 10.30pm on Oct 14 from a man saying he managed to rescue my brother from the hotel but died during detention due to heart problems....he was rescued from the job scam syndicate but died at the immigration centre.
"I will be travelling to Myanmar on Oct 20 (Friday) with my other siblings to make funeral arrangements. We have not decided if his remains should be brought back to Kuantan and I hope the government can assist us," he said, adding Izzat was the youngest from eight siblings.
Izzat's mother Esah Ali, 69, described him as a hardworking son who did various jobs to support the family including working as a food delivery rider, grasscutter, lorry driver and recently purchased a car for rental purposes.
She said the police had contacted the family today to ask for updates on their plans to travel to Myanmar.