Cops: Rent defaulter locked in by landlord died of heart attack

PETALING JAYA: An ehailing driver who was locked in by his landlord for weeks died of a heart attack, police say.

Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Mohamad Fakhruddin Abdul Hamid said the post-mortem report stated that this was the cause of death.

“For now, we have not detected any elements of crime and have classified the case as sudden death,” he told Sin Chew Daily on Sunday (Aug 13).

However, he said that the investigation had not ended and urged anyone with information to contact the police.

The victim, in his 40s, was found dead in his rented condominium at Sunway Damansara here on July 23 after neighbours complained of a stench coming from the unit.

He was said to have been locked in by his landlord for weeks after failing to pay his monthly rental of RM1,000 since March.

His family from Johor had accused the landlord of causing him to starve to death, the daily reported.

In response, the landlord admitted to chaining up the unit on July 2 but claimed she did not know the victim was inside.

She claimed that she had tried to call the victim more than 30 times and went to search for him at the unit but there was no response.

“I thought he had moved out quietly, so I locked it up with a chain,” she told the daily.

She said the victim had been a tenant for 18 years and had always paid on time until March, when he called to inform her that he had an accident and would pay the rent later.

“That was our last contact. I only found out about his death when the police called,” she added.

It is believed the victim’s family is considering legal action against the landlord.