BALING, April 23 — The burnt body of an elderly woman was found after her two-storey house near Taman Seri Baling, Kedah, caught fire at around midnight.
Baling district police chief Supt Shamsudin Mamat said in a statement today that the victim was identified as Lim Phaik Luang@Lim Pek Aiee, 82, and her body was found at 12.45am today, adding the fire had involved another double-storey house that was unoccupied when the fire occurred.
"The victim, a single mother who lived alone, is believed to have died after being trapped in the house as she could not escape during the fire.
"The investigating officer was informed by the firefighters that the house, measuring 20 by 40 feet was 90 per cent burnt. The distance between both houses was around five metres,” he said.
Preliminary reports received by the firefighters indicated the fire was likely started by a short circuit and there was no element of foul play so far, but further investigation was ongoing to discover the true cause of the fire.
“The fire is believed to have started from the victim’s house, which then spread to the nearby house. The firefighters were able to control the fire from spreading further,” Shamsudin said, adding the victim’s body had been sent to Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar for autopsy.
According to a Kedah Fire and Rescue Department spokesman, the department received a call about the fire at 11.53pm and a team arrived at the scene four minutes later.
"The fire was controlled by 12.54am and firefighting operations ended at 5.16am,” the spokesman said.
— Bernama
