Body found in water tank at KL condo

Kuala Lumpur - More than 100 residents of a condominium in Kuala Lumpur were horrified when they found out that the reason for the foul smell in their tap water was a corpse immersed in the building's water tank for days.

The body was discovered in the water tank last Wednesday, after a resident, detecting a strange smell in the water, requested that the condominium management check the water tank, Sin Chew Daily said.

Malaysian police confirmed that the victim was Mr Chuan Wan Chooi, 43, a deliveryman with a company which sold car parts.

Records showed that he was not a resident at the condominium and had no criminal record.

Kuala Lumpur Criminal Investigation Department chief Senior Assistant Commissioner (SAC) Zainuddin Ahmad said that the police received a call last Wednesday night, and conducted investigations at the condominium at Jalan Semantan.

Mr Chuan was found in a water tank in the underground carpark.

The water tank was locked and the keys were kept at the security room.

"The victim's clothes were intact, and his wallet and driving licence were found on him. No suspected weapon was found at the scene," SAC Zainuddin said. There were also no visible injuries on his body.

The police are treating the case as sudden death. Closed-circuit television camera recordings at the condominium showed Mr Chuan walking alone to the water tank.

An autopsy report showed that there was no water retention in his chest, and ruled out drowning as a possible cause of death.

A missing person report had been lodged by his family and colleagues on May 9, after he was absent from work for two days.

His family suspected that he might have been killed while collecting debt, as he had lent a sum of money to a friend a few years ago.

A colleague of Mr Chuan said that he had called Mr Chuan on May 7 after he did not report for work, and a man claiming to be a taxi driver picked up the call.

The man said that he was holding on to Mr Chuan's phone as the latter was unable to pay his taxi fare.

In a similar case in Singapore, the body of 30-year-old maid Ruliyawati was found in a water tank on the rooftop of Block 686B, Woodlands Drive 73, in 2011.

A coroner's inquest found that she had drowned herself in the water tank.

This article was first published on May 17, 2015.
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