KOTA KINABALU: A 35-year-old man perished in a morning fire at his house in Sabah’s east coast Sandakan district on Sunday.
The incident at Kampung Karamunting took place at about 8.30am when the victim, identified as Jailan Jaimin, and his younger brother, aged 25, were asleep.
According to fire authorities, the victim had suffered a stroke during the incident.
Sandakan police chief Asst Comm Abdul Fuad Abdul Malek said the house was completely razed in the fire.
“The younger brother was rudely awakened by the fire and tried to save the victim who was sleeping in the living room but failed as the blaze spread too quickly,” he said, in a statement.
He added a lorry and two other vehicles parked near the house were also destroyed.
The charred remains of the victim have been sent for an autopsy at the forensics unit at the Duchess of Kent Hospital.
“The cause of the fire and losses are still being assessed by the fire authorities,” said ACP Abdul Fuad, adding the incident was classified as sudden death.
A Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said they were notified about the fire through the Malaysian Emergency Response Services (MERS) 999 line at 8.41am.
He said the fire team arrived at the scene, located some 12km from the station, at 8.54am.
Firemen managed to put the fire under control at 9.27am, adding the operation ended at 11.35am.
In an unrelated incident, the body of a man, believed to be homeless, was found at the Grandview bus stop at Jalan Buli Sim Sim, Sandakan at 8.30pm on Saturday (Nov 16).
ACP Abdul Fuad said a passer-by had earlier noticed the man unconscious and immediately alerted the authorities.
Paramedics who arrived at the scene later confirmed the man had died, he added.
“The man who is believed to be of Chinese descent is 155cm tall, was wearing a blue collared t-shirt and short pants, and is believed to be in his 60s.
“There were no personal documents on him.
“He is believed to be a homeless man who frequented the shops in the Grandview area and had made the bus stop his resting place,” said ACP Abdul Fuad.
The body has been sent for a postmortem, he said, adding police however did not suspect any foul play.
He urged those who knew the man or his next of kin to contact the investigating officer Insp Samad Sundalu directly at 019-8606714.
