Elderly man burns to death after lawn mower catches fire
A 75-year-old man was found burnt to death just 2m from his home in Perlis, Malaysia, on Sunday (8 Sept).
His body is believed to have been lying there for about two days before a passer-by spotted him and alerted the authorities.
It is suspected that the lawn mower he was using to tend to the yard caught fire, which then spread and engulfed him.
Source: Perlis PDRM via Berita Harian Online
Initially, the police suspected that the man was a hired lawnmower.
However, further investigation revealed that he was actually a retired Telekom Malaysia employee named Tunku Mahadzir Tunku Ahmad.
Wife unaware of incident till police inform her
Despite the tragedy occurring so close to their home, Mr Tunku Mahadzir’s 77-year-old wife, Sharifah Puziah Syed Ali, was unaware of his death.
Madam Sharifah, who suffers from dementia, was resting inside the house during the incident.
Although she noticed smoke outside, she thought it was from burning yard waste and did not suspect anything amiss.
She only found out about her husband’s death when the police arrived to inform her.
Source: Harian Metro
Madam Sharifah’s sister-in-law, Rosida Aziz, noted that Madam Sharifah’s limited memory due to dementia likely contributed to her lack of awareness about the fire.
Ms Rosida also admitted that she did not learn about the incident until another family member sent a photo of it, which had gone viral on Facebook.
“I was shocked to discover that it involved my sister-in-law’s husband,” she told Kosmo Online.
Autopsy ongoing to determine cause of incident
A day after the body was discovered, traces of the fire and remnants of the victim’s skin were still visible at the scene.
An autopsy is ongoing to determine the exact cause of death.
Preliminary investigations revealed no signs of foul play or struggle on the victim’s body.
Furthermore, no elements of crime were detected at the scene.
Also read: Charred body of 44-year-old man found after Potong Pasir flat fire, cause under investigation
Charred body of 44-year-old man found after Potong Pasir flat fire, cause under investigation
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Featured image adapted from Perlis PDRM via Berita Harian Online and Harian Metro.
