'My son is alive, but whose body am I burying?'

Photo: Sinar Harian

PETALING JAYA: A mourning father in Negri Sembilan was shocked to find out that his son, who authorities said had died while in custody at the Sungai Buloh Prison last Tuesday (Feb 28), is still alive and breathing.

The father, who only wanted to be identified as Chantren, told Sinar Harian that the family's ordeal started when he received a call from the prison authority last Wednesday saying his son had died in jail.

However, he did not know why the youth was in prison in the first place.

Chantren was told to claim his son's remains at the Sungai Buloh Hospital which he did together with several other family members.

"When we looked (at the remains), we noticed that the face was different after post-mortem because there were suture marks and his hair had also been shaved," he told reporters when met at his house in Taman Desa Permai.

Upon claiming the body from Sungai Buloh Hospital, Chantren and family prepared for funeral rites at their family home in Tampin and made arrangements to bury their son's remains.

However, to the family's surprise, they were informed just a few hours before the burial that the 19-year-old boy was still alive.

"We received a call from the prison authority about three or four hours before the burial time - and they informed us that my son was still alive.

"They did a video call (to show). I do not know how to even express my feelings. Our son is still alive, but whose body is at our house now?" the father said.

According to Chantren, the prison authority had since gone to his house and collected the body and he has also requested to meet his son in prison.