BATU PAHAT, Jan 20 — Residents of Lorong Imam Jailani, Batu 7 Tongkang Pechah, near here, were startled at the discovery of a partial human skeleton and some clothing in an abandoned house in the neighbourhood by the police, yesterday afternoon.
Md Hairunizal Alimon, a 56-year-old resident, expressed his shock, saying he had not encountered any unusual incident, or heard cries or screams in the vicinity of his residence.
He said the residents only became aware of the matter after seeing the police at the location of the discovery.
“We have not seen any suspicious vehicles enter the back lane this month either, especially to the abandoned house where the skeleton was found.
“There were only trucks carrying soil or stones to the land near the palm oil plantation,” he said when met by reporters at the site, today.
His wife, Fadilah Md Mery, 51, said she had not caught any whiff of strange smells throughout this month either, except the smell from a fishmonger in front of the house.
She also did not suspect anything when vehicles entered the lane because it is usually used to make a U-turn after picking up children from school.
“There are also outsiders here during the day. We don’t suspect anything because most of them come to buy fish,” she said, adding that the house had been abandoned for four years.
On December 14 last year, a single mother of two, Mira Sharmila Samsusah, 32, known as Bella went missing after heading to a laundromat in her boyfriend’s car at 11.50pm.
The woman, who was last seen wearing a dark blue caftan, is still missing to date and her mobile phone is unreachable.
Meanwhile, Bella’s sister, Norisham Samsusah, 36, said that based on initial reports of the skeleton and clothing discovery, it appeared almost identical to what her sister was wearing when she left the house.
However, the family will await the DNA test results to shed some light on Bella’s disappearance.
In a statement today, Batu Pahat District Police Chief, ACP Ismail Dollah said the examination of the partial skeletal remains has been conducted at Hospital Sultan Ismail in Johor Baru.
“A pathology sample was also sent to the Chemistry Department for DNA comparison.
“The three suspects will be remanded until January 27, and the case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code,” he said.
At about 2pm yesterday, one of the remanded suspects led police to the location of the skeletal remains. — Bernama