A man who bought a luxury apartment in an upper-class suburb of Mont Kiara found a dead body chopped into 11 pieces in the refrigerator.

Police said the owner, in his 30s, made the gruesome discovery on Sunday when he went to the apartment in Mont Kiara, after receiving the keys last week.

"When he (the owner) opened the door he suspected something amiss when he smelt a strong stench and immediately called the security guard," said Ku Chin Wah, the criminal investigation department chief.

"They found the body in a refrigerator which was sealed with masking tape," he was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper.

The unidentified body, believed to be male, was in the refrigerator for about one week, the paper said.

According to New Straits Times , the owner bought the apartment through a bank auction. The unit had been vacant for more than three months.

Police are looking for the previous owner of the apartment and a woman whose photocopied driver's licence was found there.