Human skeletal remains found in drain next to Tawau main road

KOTA KINABALU: Human skeletal remains were found in a ditch alongside a main road in Tawau district, on Sabah’s east coast.

Police were alerted to the find near a secondary school off Jalan Dr Yamamoto at about 12.58pm on Sunday (June 30).

Tawau police chief Asst Comm Jasmin Hussin said a team deployed to the scene found the remains in a ditch with tree branches over it, next to a vegetable farm.

“The body has decomposed greatly, the person died a while ago,” he said in a statement on Monday (July 1).

“We were not able to ascertain the person’s identity as there was no personal document found at the scene,” he added.

ACP Jasmin said that the deceased was shirtless and only clad in a pair of black trousers.

He added that the body was found in an open area, while no witnesses have been identified.

“The body has been sent for a postmortem at the Tawau hospital’s forensics unit.

“Investigations are ongoing,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Labuan, an elderly man drowned after falling into the sea from the jetty at Ujong Pasir at about 7pm on Sunday.

Labuan police chief Supt Mohd Hamizi Halim said a witness had seen the victim Lee Kam Wah, 79, slip as he walked on the jetty.

“Some people used a boat to rescue the man but he was already unconscious when brought back up to the jetty,” he said in a statement on Monday.

A medical team from Labuan Hospital pronounced the victim dead at the scene, with an autopsy later confirming the man had died due to drowning, he said.

In a separate case, Supt Mohd Hamizi said, a man was found dead in his house at Kampung Sungai Lada on Saturday (June 29).

He said paramedics reported the matter to the police after finding the 47-year-old fisherman’s body hanging from the ceiling of the house at 10.30pm.

“The body was earlier discovered by the wife who entered the sleeping room.

“Before the incident, the man had told all his wife and five children to leave the house but the spouse and two children refused to do so,” he said.

Supt Mohd Hamizi said the case was classified as sudden death.