GUA MUSANG: A 43-year-old local man was found dead after being attacked by a herd of wild elephants near loggers’ quarters in Aring 8, late Wednesday (Oct 29) night.
Gua Musang OCPD Supt Sik Choon Foo said in a statement that police received an initial report on the incident from the Paloh 2 police station at 8.15am on Thursday (Oct 30).
He said preliminary investigations found that six loggers including the victim, Saidi Jahari, were asleep when they were startled by loud noises.
"They saw a herd of wild elephants approaching and ran into the forest to escape.
"Unfortunately, the victim could not get away and was attacked by one of the elephants,” Supt Sik said on Friday (Oct 31).
Supt Sik said the workers returned to the quarters a few hours later and found the victim with serious injuries, including fractures to both legs, and carried him inside.
However, they were forced to leave him behind when an elephant, believed to be the leader of the herd, returned to the area.
Supt Sik said the body was sent to Hospital Gua Musang for a post-mortem, and the case has been classified as a sudden death.
He said the Wildlife and National Parks Department has been notified, and efforts are underway to track and manage the herd's movements.
Meanwhile, the victim’s brother, Sulaiman Jahari, 32, said they learned of the incident at 10am on Thursday. He added that Saidi had only started working in the logging area about two weeks ago.
"The incident is a huge shock to our family. The last time I saw him was during Deepavali. He never spoke about the challenges of working in the forest or the threat posed by wild animals," he said.
Sulaiman added that his brother was an experienced logger and previously worked in Tanah Tinggi Lojing. – Bernama
