A 26-year-old man diagnosed as a probable Sars patient succumbed to the deadly virus early today after being hospitalised for more than two weeks, the Health Ministry said.

He is the second Malaysian to have died from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars), which has claimed at least 224 lives and infected more than 4,500 people worldwide.

The ministry said a post-mortem would be conducted o­n the man, who was hospitalised o­n April 5 in Penang. It is also awaiting post-mortem reports o­n two other deaths earlier this month to confirm if they are Sars-related.