KOTA KINABALU: A full investigation is underway on a fire at a double storey terrace house in Sandakan that killed three people on Friday (Aug 19).
Sandakan district police chief Asst Comm Abdul Fuad Abdul Malek said they have so far identified the male victim as Chin Seong Vui, 54, while the two other women who perished in the fire have yet to be identified.
"Based on our initial investigations, all three were living in the house," he said in a statement Saturday (Aug 20).
Firemen found the three charred bodies - a man and two women - in the living room of the house at Taman Rajawali after they put out the fire at about 11pm on Friday.
ACP Abdul Fuad said the two women were believed to be local Chinese and efforts were underway to identify them.
He added that their bodies have been sent to the Duchess of Kent hospital for a post-mortem and said that police have classified the case as a sudden death.
ACP Abdul Fuad also said that investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.
A state Fire and Rescue Services Department spokesman said they received a distress call at 10.35pm on Friday and added that the fire is believed to have started at about 10.10pm.
Firemen took about 20 minutes to bring the fire under control and stopped it from spreading to the adjacent houses.
A department team is also investigating the cause of the fire and the estimated losses sustained.
