TRAGIC INCIDENT: The victim’s car that was completely burnt in the incident.
KOTA SAMARAHAN: A 36-year old man died in a freak incident, believed to have happened when the car he was driving caught fire by itself.
The incident, which happened at around 9.30am at Kampung Baru Samarahan road yesterday, took the life of Muliadi Sunip, who was a staff member of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. According to See Hua Daily News, the man was married with three small children.
According to his neighbour, the victim went out at around six yesterday morning.
Meanwhile, the victim’s brother told reporters that the victim went out yesterday morning to his father-in-law’s house.
Another villager, who happened to pass by the scene during the incident, said he saw fire burning a car and a man was being burnt on the driver’s seat. As the blaze was too big, he said he could not save the victim.
Samarahan Fire and Rescue Department, after receiving a report from the public, sent a team of eight fire fighters and a fire engine to the scene. When the team arrived, the fire was already burning fiercely and they immediately put out the fire. The department’s senior officer Bujang Junat said they received a report about the incident at 9.40am and rushed to the scene. Bujang claimed that the car was not involved in an accident and was believed to have caught fire.
Police who went to the scene to investigate the incident then sent the victim’s body to Sarawak General Hospital mortuary for a post mortem. The incident attracted many passersby and villagers, including colleagues of the victim who rushed to the scene.
The family of the victim rushed to the scene after they were informed of the incident. One of his relatives, believed to be his grandmother, fainted when told that he was burnt to death. She was then sent back to her village by other family members.
Eye witnesses believed the victim was in shock when the fire broke out and didn’t manage to escape.