IPOH - A burglar who tried to break into a house in Silibin, Ipoh, was found dead trapped between some window panels, and clad only in his underwear.
However, his family members claimed that the 27-year-old man was beaten to death as there were bruises on his body, reported The Star.
Ipoh police spokesman Sum Chang Keong said initial investigations showed no foul play, adding that the case had been classified as sudden death.
He said the 55-year-old owner of the single-storey terrace house in Taman Saz, a Mr Chen, called the police at about 12.15am on Saturday, saying that a man was trapped between the window panels of his kitchen.
The owner told the police that he had just returned home when he heard noises from the kitchen.
Checking to see what it was, he saw the motionless man, whose chest was stuck between the iron bars of the window.
His head was inside the house but the lower part of his body was on the outside. Mr Chen said the man was clad in boxer shorts.
His trousers, shirt and shoes were found in the kitchen sink.
Mr Sum said the victim, Sherol Aizam Rashid, was living with his parents a few doors from the house he had tried to break into.
"Police had to break the window panels to free him and called for an ambulance from the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital," Mr Sum told reporters at the hospital mortuary.
Dead
"But paramedics who checked him confirmed that he had already died."
He added that the police also used a metal cutter to release the suspect.
Mr Sum said a post-mortem showed that Sherol had died from shortness of breath after being wedged between the panels.
He said under such conditions, the body would have signs of bruises.
However, the man's 50-year-old father, a trader, told reporters that the family would insist on a second post-mortem.
He claimed that besides the bruises, neighbours had heard him calling out for help before he was found dead.
On claims by the victim's family that the deceased was beaten to death as there were bruises on the body, Mr Sum said the pathologist reported that such bruises were common in people who died of postural asphyxia.
"Our investigations also showed that the victim was not beaten by anyone.
"Examinations by the pathologist also did not find any signs of foul play," he said.
Earlier, at the mortuary, emotions ran high as the dead man's relatives were not satisfied with the post-mortem findings.
Sherol's father, Mr Rashid Fuad, 50, said the pathologist had failed to satisfactorily explain the bruises on his son's body. He added that he would not be claiming the body "until a second post-mortem is conducted".
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