Couple with money issues found dead in flat

Tragic end: Sim (left) and Tan said to have died of suffocation.

BUKIT MERTAJAM: A couple said to be in debt was found dead at a unit of Bayu Mutiara flats in Bukit Tengah.

Apparently, the man identified as Sim Hun Khong, 47, and his girlfriend Tan Soo Sim, 35, sealed themselves in their bedroom and burned charcoal inside.

Policemen had to break down the front door and found the bodies lying side by side on a bed during the 4pm incident yesterday.

Seberang Prai OCPD Asst Comm Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid said initial investigation showed they were having monetary problems.

“We believe the couple died of suffocation after inhaling charcoal fumes.

“We had to break into the house as the door was locked from the inside.

“They could have been dead for more than three days,” he said when contacted.

He said according to family members, Sim and Tan had been together for five years and were planning to get married.

He added that Sim was a factory operator while Tan was working at an advertising firm.

ACP Nik Ros said the case had been temporarily classified as sudden death as investigation is still ongoing.

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