[Above: The landing of the shoplot in Selayang where the body of the woman was found buried under a layer of cement Wednesday. The remains of a woman which were later taken to the KL Hospital mortuary.]

KUALA LUMPUR: For several days, tenants of a four-storey shoplot in Gombak were troubled by a stench emanating from within their building but had no inkling it was caused by a decomposing body buried under a layer of cement.

The unidentified woman is suspected to have been murdered in the shoplot and could have been buried there for a week.

The gruesome discovery was made by the building owner who for a week received numerous complaints from his tenants regarding the stench emitting throughout the shoplot near the Selayang wholesale market.

At 12.30pm yesterday, the owner conducted an inspection and spotted toes protruding out of a cement layering at the landing of a staircase leading to a vacant second floor unit. He immediately alerted the police.

Gombak police chief Assistant Commissioner Abdul Rahim Abdullah said the deceased used to live with her brother-in-law and his family in the second floor unit when they moved in six months ago.

"We are looking for the brother-in-law, S. Muniandy, 41, a odd-job worker, who moved out with his family last week as the unit is undergoing renovations.

"His last known address is No 27 Jalan 4/1 Taman Sri Layang, Mentakab, Pahang. We need him to come forward to help our investigations," he added.

He said police, who took several hours to hack through the cement flooring to remove the woman's body, believe she was murdered in the unit as they found several spots of blood there.

It is learnt the owner told police that Muniandy and his wife seemed nervous as they packed their belongings into their van before they left.

According to tenants and neighbours, the sounds of heated argument were frequently heard coming from their unit.

-- The Star/Asia News Network

» See also: Murder most foul