Do not believe everything you read in the newspapers. This caveat emptor is buzzing in my ear after I came across an incident recently reported by a local newspaper.

A mother of three succumbed to head injuries suffered after she fell from a moving car. Rosenani Daud, 34, a spa manager of a resort in Lumut, died two days later, leaving her parents astonished over the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death.

Rosenani and her husband were on their way to visit their children when she apparently fell off the car at Titi Gantung, near Bota in Ipoh at 1am.

The New Straits Times ( NST ) on March 26 reported that Rosenani fell out of a moving car after having an argument with her husband.

It also quoted Perak CID deputy chief Supt Abdul Rahman Hashim as saying that police had classified the case as accidental death. He said the case was still being investigated to ascertain the reason for the incident.

He added that the police has to differentiate between evidence and information in Rosenani's case. This seems no less an ambiguous statement, one which is open to much interpretation.

'Foul play' charge

On March 28, NST carried another report, this time quoting the deceased's father as saying that foul play had a hand in his daughter's death. This 'story' would have made 'interesting' read to many. A drama of sorts taking place with an estranged couple arguing and the woman ending up dead after she leaps out of a moving car.

For those of us who never knew the deceased, this news would not have jolted us to think 'out of the box' in trying to make sense of her 'accident'. Another day, another tragedy. Life goes on.

Likewise, the newspapers too went on with their daily business of reporting, never mind if a death like that of Rosenani's begged to be probed. The hints were given, for instance the fact that all was not well with her marriage. But Rosenani never spoke of it, due to her reserved nature.

The police is investigating the case but that does not prohibit the newspapers from doing their own checks, to dig deeper on what were the circumstances surrounding Rosenani prior to her death. Was she a battered wife? Was this an issue of domestic violence? Did she commit suicide? Or was there indeed foul play at work?

These questions are raised because often times the public takes matters at face value and are too quick to dismiss them beyond that which meets the eye.

The women's groups fought very hard for the Domestic Violence Act. Now that there is such an Act in place, can the women's groups not ride on it to investigate such mysterious deaths like Rosenani's?

The newspapers have moved on to chasing other stories. No one organisation has raised concern over the death of a young woman and mother. The women's groups predictably have been silent. A father has cried foul over his daughter's death and no one in our midst found it necessary to show concern over this case? Why?

Ludicrous statement

Rosenani's death begs to be investigated. It is apparent that something is amiss here, especially the statement in NST dated March 26 which went "when Rosenani's husband discovered she was not in her seat, he turned the car around and found his wife with the villagers."

It seems ludicruous to imagine this scenario, where the husband has no idea when his wife went missing from the car, and that too from a moving car, mind you. Such a situation itself calls for a deeper probe.

But as investigations often hinge on evidence, the worry here is that the lack of strong proof might go against solving this bizarre death.

It seems equally absurd to imply that while the couple got into an argument, the deceased's husband had no idea when the wife 'jumped' or 'fell' out of the car. This leads to several questions - how does a front-seat passenger fall out of a moving car without the driver taking notice at all? What are the odds of that happening?

Rosenani's parents want recourse. They want her death probed. And they have a right, more so keeping in mind the mysterious way their daughter died.

Who will guide the parents and tell them where or who they can turn too for help? Will the Human Rights Commission make it their business to investigate? Will the women's groups empathise and step in to help Rosenani's parents seek justice?

Or are we all waiting to see who will come to the forefront to help her parents? While her parents weep silent tears, the question that is crying out for an answer is this - will the mystery surrounding Rosenani's death ever be solved?

JJ RAY started her career with a mainstream publication. A non-conformist, she soon saw the barriers that went up whenever, through her writing, she tried to make the world a home for one and all.