SUNGAI PETANI: Five men, who were part of a group involved in illegal gambling sessions held over the past few weeks in Bukit Selambau, eventually ‘gambled’ their lives away.
Upon spotting a team of policemen approaching the gambling den in Kampung Kuala Lengkuas about 6pm yesterday, the five, together with 12 other gamblers, ran helter-skelter.
At that juncture, the five decided to break away from the group and jumped into the nearby Sungai Muda to escape the long arm of the law.
It turned out to be a fatal move. All five drowned.
This evening, a team of Fire and Rescue Department personnel retrieved their bodies from the river between 3pm and 7.45pm.
The body of a 43-year-old man was found floating at 3pm, followed by that of a 60-year-old man, more than two hours later.
Between 7.30pm and 7.45pm, the rest of the bodies were recovered from the river. The trio were in their 40s and 50s.
Kuala Muda police chief Assistant Commissioner Hashim Ali said yesterday, the five bodies were sent to the Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital.
He said a team from the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman which conducted the raid, detained 12 people to facilitate investigations into the illegal gambling session.
Initial police investigations revealed that several gambling sessions were held over the past few weeks in that area.
Meanwhile, a villager who wanted to be known only as ‘Pian’, said the deceased and their friends were gambling in some bushes at the edge of the village on Friday. — Bernama