Lai (second right) holds out the snake with the neighbours.
SIBU: A more than 20-foot-long python was caught at Rambutan Lane yesterday when it was swallowing a cat.
The house owner, who has moved out, returned yesterday to recognise it as the one that had stayed underneath his house for two decades.
He said he had sought help from a snake catcher numerous times, but he was unable to catch it.
His neighbour, however, caught it when it was swallowing his cat at about 11am.
The owner said the neighbour used a spade to prevent the snake from escaping, and called in snake catcher Lai Lee Siew.
The owner said the compound of his house had sunk, and there were holes underneath the cement compound that provided `underground’ tunnels.
“These openings have become the routes for the snakes to stay underneath the house.”
The owner believed there was more than one snake beneath his house; he believed the snake population had multiplied over the 20 years.
“I only saw one python 20 years ago. Over the last three years, I have caught three from the holes.”
He believed there were lots of snakes living under the sunken houses in nearby residential areas, from Hua Kiew Road to Kapor Road, adding there were countless holes in these sunken houses that served as `homes’ for the snakes to live.
“This is the problem the residents of these sunken homes are facing. Snakes have invaded our living space. What can we do?”