TAWAU: Police confirmed that a boy who was found unconscious in a drain in Kampung Tanjung Batu Darat-Taman Ria 9, here, on Tuesday, died of drowning.
Acting Tawau District Police Chief DSP Champin Piuh said this was confirmed by doctors after a post-mortem was performed at Tawau Hospital.
He said the 13-year-old boy was a student of an NGO-assisted private school in town.
Champin said the initial report regarding the discovery of an unconscious boy was lodged at 2.27pm by a 47-year-old who also rushed the victim to the Tawau Hospital, but doctors confirmed he had died.
“Based on initial investigations, observations and preliminary physical examination at the scene, there were no criminal elements involved,” he said.
He said the post-mortem was conducted following the issuance of Form Pol. 61, in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code – Act 593, to determine the cause of death.
“The case has been classified as sudden death,” he added.
On Tuesday, Tawau residents were shocked by the discovery of a boy’s “body” in a drain, which reportedly was noticed only after water from a large pipeline in the residential area was released.
Workers opening the large pipeline for repairs due to leakage, which caused water to gush out rapidly, were said to have not noticed the boy’s presence.
The victim is believed to have been swept away by the strong current before being discovered, but he was already unconscious when found.
The case raised concerns among Tawau residents following viral claims that a body was found inside a water pipe used to supply clean water to consumers.
However, the claims were denied by a 31-year-old complainant who claimed to represent the Water Department and lodged a report at about 4.30pm on the same day.
The complainant stressed that the viral voice message claim was untrue, as the victim’s “body” was found in a drain and not inside the pipeline, and therefore did not affect the clean water supply to consumers.
