Police find remains of Bateq tribesperson
Police today found several bones suspected to be the remains of one of the 14 Bateq tribespeople reported to have died of an unconfirmed disease since early May.
Thus far, postmortems have only been conducted on the bodies of two who died in Kampung Kuala Koh, Gua Musang, with the cause of death identified as pneumonia...
Police today found several bones suspected to be the remains of one of the 14 Bateq tribespeople reported to have died of an unconfirmed disease since early May.
Thus far, postmortems have only been conducted on the bodies of two who died in Kampung Kuala Koh, Gua Musang, with the cause of death identified as pneumonia.
Kelantan police chief Hasanuddin Hassan explained that three search teams involving police and several other agencies began operations at 2.20pm.
"After two hours we found a corpse in the form of bones scattered on the ground," he told a press conference at the operations control centre at Felda Aring 10.
"The body was placed on a tree, before it decayed and fell to the ground.
"It is possible that the body had been tampered with by wild beasts."
Read more: Police declare Kuala Koh a 'red zone'
The traditional burial practice of the Bateq is for the corpse to be wrapped in tree bark and carried across a river, which according to their belief system, prevents the spirit from returning to the village.
The body is then harnessed to a tall tree in the burial area using vines, and is left there to decompose. Burial grounds are considered taboo by the Bateq.
Hasanuddin said the bones were located between six and seven kilometres from the operations centre.
"For now it is unclear when it will be taken out, it depends on the forensic investigation.
"We will continue to search for the second day tomorrow to locate 11 more bodies until they are all found," he said, adding that for the time being, they have yet to confirm the identity and sex of the body.
Operations were suspended at 5.30 pm and will continue tomorrow.
Asked about the status of Kampung Kuala Koh, which was cordoned off and declared a red zone, Hasanuddin said the status would remain until the operation is completed.
"The area around Kampung Kuala Koh is declared a red zone and we limit the influx of anyone other than the special forces involved until the completion of this operation.
"We only contacted plantation managers here in order to allow farm workers to enter the area needed for their work," he explained.
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