MELAKA: A teenager drowned after he was believed to have fallen into a pond at an agarwood plantation along Jalan Gaung Piring in Cheng.
Melaka Tengah OCPD Asst Comm Christopher Patit identified the victim as Gan Ping Hong, 18, who had been working as a plantation caretaker for the past six months.
He was found unconscious by a supervisor at about 12.50pm on Thursday.
He said preliminary investigations showed the victim started work at 8.30am, and was seen at the pond at 9.04am, based on a WhatsApp photo he had sent to a witness the same day.
“At about 11.30am, the witness tried to contact the victim, but did not receive any response. He then went to the location with a friend to look for the victim.
“At about 12.45pm, the witness and his friend found the victim lifeless in the pond,” he said yesterday.
ACP Patit said the victim, who had been assigned to water agarwood saplings, was pulled to the bank before authorities were alerted.
“The post-mortem completed at 7.15pm on Thursday found no signs of foul play and the cause of death was drowning,” he added.
