JERTIH: A lecturer at the Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) Besut Campus has been found dead in his rented house in Kampung Gelam Emas here.
The body of Tajul Afif Abdullah, 49, was discovered at 9.38am on Tuesday (March 10) after two of his colleagues went to check on him because he failed to report for work the day before.
Besut OCPD Supt Mohd Rozaime Ab Rahim said initial observations suggested the lecturer had died more than 24 hours before his body was found.
"The two lecturers, who were his friends, detected a foul smell coming from the house and contacted the police before personnel from the Fire and Rescue Department arrived to force open the door, which was locked from the inside,” he said in a statement.
He said the victim’s body was found in the bathroom of the main bedroom and was later sent to the Hospital Besut Forensic Unit for a post-mortem examination.
Supt Rozaime added that investigations and the post-mortem results found no elements of foul play, noting that Tajuf Afif had a history of heart disease.
Meanwhile, a close friend of the deceased, Dr Muhammad Hailmi Sajeli, 48, said he had a feeling that something might have happened to Tajul Afif, and was saddened that it turned out to be true.
After noticing that Tajul Afif did not show up for work at the Faculty of Bioresources and Food Industry (FBIM) yesterday, Hailmi said he invited another colleague, Dr Zarizal Suhaili, the deputy dean of Student Affairs at FBIM, to check on him at his rented house.
"When we arrived, we found the doors and windows closed and locked from the inside, and we could smell a foul odour.
"We became more worried when we saw the deceased’s motorcycle behind the house and noticed water flowing into the drain.
"When we opened the window, the smell became stronger, so we called the police immediately,” he told reporters at the hospital compound.
Hailmi said Tajul Afif last reported for work on Thursday (March 5) and that he had not responded to messages in their WhatsApp group later the same day.
He also shared that Tajul Afif, who was pursuing his doctorate at UniSZA, had previously expressed his intention to remain unmarried so that he could focus on caring for his mother, who had suffered a stroke. – Bernama
