Cops: Elderly Lipis man who went out to find food died of cardiovascular problems, not hunger or disease

A screengrab from a viral video showing policemen helping the victim on April 13,2020. The man died the next day of a heart attack, and not starvation or disease as speculated.

KUANTAN: An elderly man who was found slumped by the roadside while looking for food in Lipis has passed away.

However, Lipis police chief Supt Azli Mohd Noor said the man died of cardiovascular problems and not because of starvation or disease.

Supt Azli said policemen had gone to check on the man, identified as Lai Fah Kuen, 72, at his home on Tuesday (April 14) morning and found he had died.

"The man lived alone but had a close relative who lived nearby.

"The police sent his remains to the hospital for a post-mortem, and it has been confirmed that he died of cardiovascular problems, not of starvation or other diseases as claimed on the Internet," he said.

Supt Azli said when the man was believed to be weak from hunger when he walked out of his home on Monday (April 13), apparently to look for food.

He was spotted by a passer-by who then notified the police.

Several police personnel took the man back to his house on Jalan Kuala Kechau, and also brought him some food supplies.

After news of the man's death came to light on social media, many Malaysians expressed sympathy and mourned his passing.