Who was he? A month on, mystery deepens over man found dead in KLIA aircraft landing gear

SHAH ALAM, Sept 23 — The identity of a man whose body was found in an aircraft’s landing gear compartment at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 2 on Aug 27 remains unknown and the remains have yet to be claimed.

Selangor police chief Datuk Shazeli Kahar said police had yet to receive any information that could establish the man’s identity.

“So far, no one has come forward with any information. If there are family members whose relatives have not returned home or have gone missing, they can contact the nearest police station so that we can complete our investigation,” he told a press conference on the Selangor Criminal Investigation Department’s Narcotics Division achievements here today.

Asked how the man came to be inside the aircraft, Shazeli said the circumstances remained a mystery and were still under investigation.

“This is not the first such case. There have been instances where individuals were found in landing gear compartments. I do not want to draw any conclusions as this could lead us in the wrong direction. We will wait for the outcome of the investigation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Shazeli said police were tracing the owner and crew of a fishing boat who were alleged to have failed to retrieve the body of a victim in a boat tragedy, to have them give statements to assist the investigation.

He said police had recorded statements from the survivors as of yesterday, but several other individuals, particularly witnesses, had yet to have their statements recorded as their health had not permitted it.

“We are working to complete the investigation, including tracing the fishermen and owner of the boat allegedly used. Insya Allah, we will do our best to obtain the information needed and complete the investigation,” he said.

On the victim’s family questioning why the body was not retrieved when four survivors were found, Shazeli said police were still investigating the matter.

He said based on statements and information gathered from witnesses so far, the body could have belonged to a different individual and not one of the fishing group.

“Based on the statements and accounts of the witnesses involved, we believe the incident may have involved different individuals and not the same group. This is because identification could not be carried out at the time due to the condition of the body,” he said.

Four anglers survived the tragedy on Sept 13, namely Mohd Shairazi Abdul Aziz, 43; Mohd Rizal Mohamad Sadali, 45; Muhd Hamiszar Punirain, 45; and Zulfikalnain Awang, 47, while Mohamad Shahril Abd Rahman, 43, and Muhammad Ridzuan Ruhaizat, 37, were confirmed dead and Raja Mohd Rozi Raja Mohamud, 49, remains missing. — Bernama