BUKIT MERTAJAM, 6 June 2017:
The mystery of a foul smell coming from a unit in Block B, Bayu Mutiara Flats, here, was unravelled when police found the rotting bodies of a couple in a room on Sunday.
The bodies of Sim Hun Khong, 47, and his girlfriend Tan Soo Sim, 35, were found at 3.50pm after a neighbour lodged a police report on the foul smell coming from the couple’s unit.
The couple, who worked as a factory operator and clerk in an advertising company, respectively, had been staying together since five years ago and were planning to get married.
A neighbour who wanted to be identified only as Wong, in his 30’s, said the last time he saw them was on Wednesday.
“They rarely mixed with the residents here and several neighbours had started complaining since Thursday about a foul smell coming from their unit. We were suspicious of the smell and reported it to the flats management before a resident lodged a police report.”
Seberang Perai Tengah district police chief, ACP Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid said police had to break down the front door of the couple’s unit as it was locked from inside, and their bodies were found sprawled on the bed in the master bedroom.
“Two charcoal stoves were also found beside their bed. It is believed they died from inhalation of the smoke from the stoves. The maggots on the bodies indicate that they had died for more than three days.”
Nik Ros Azhan said police also found two letters in Mandarin in the unit and believed the couple took their own lives as they could not settle over RM100,000 owed to Ah Long.
He said the bodies were sent to Seberang Jaya Hospital and for now, the case was classified as sudden deaths, but the investigation was still on-going.