Woman investigating dog barking finds dead body in drain
Zuliaty Zulkiffli
ALOR STAR: A woman who was exercising at Taman Derga Jaya here made a grisly discovery yesterday evening when she found a dead body in a drain while checking on her dog's incessant barking.
Lee Ming Ching, 51, said she approached the area where her dog was sniffing and digging the soil.
"I felt uneasy, thinking that it had sighted a monitor lizard and acted weirdly when it refused to go home with me.
"I peeked over the drain and saw the body of a man lying there," she said when met at the scene last night, adding that she called the police to report the discovery.
A forensics unit from the Kedah police contingent was dispatched to the scene for investigation.
Kota Setar district police chief Assistant Commissioner Siti Nor Salawati Saad said they received a call from the public alerting the incident at 7.25pm.
She said the witness found the body at 6.30pm while exercising and walking her dog when her pet started barking.
"The dog then led her back to the drain as it refused to come along even after being pulled by the witness.
"The witness then removed a steel drain cover before seeing the body lying down inside the ditch and sought assistance, as well as calling the police," she said in a statement today.
Siti Nor Salawati said the deceased's wife and child arrived at the scene for identification soon after.
The victim's child said the 58-year-old man gave all his personal belongings, namely, MyKad, bank card as well as wallet to his wife before leaving the house at about 3.30pm without informing his destination.
"The victim has a medical history of Parkinson's and mental problems for about 13 years.
"Preliminary investigation did not find any criminal element and the body was brought to Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah's (HSB) Forensics Department for post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death," she said.