GUA MUSANG: With the Kampung Kuala Koh case unravelling, police found human skeletal remains, believed to belong to a villager from the village’s Batek tribe, about 7km from Ladang Aring 10 here at 4.30pm today.
Kelantan police chief Datuk Hasanuddin Hassan said some of the bones were found scattered on the ground while an intact part on a tree.
“For now, police will not be bring out the bones but instead mark the place as the first location where human remains were found,“ he told a press conference here today.
Prior to this, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad was reported as saying that his ministry along with other agencies would try to find the locations of the remains of 12 villagers of the same tribe said to have died under mysterious circumstances to find out the actual cause death.
It has been reported that 13 fellow tribesmen died from an illness that is yet to be conclusively determined, mysterious deaths that has thrown the spotlight on this reserved community, and which has also got the authorities and the media scrambling over.
Hasanuddin said the operation to find the location of the graves or where their bodies were interred involved more that 30 General Operations Force personnel with the assistance of local orang asli settlers.
Today’s search ended at 5.30pm and the operation will resume tomorrow morning.
He said three groups were mobilised in the operation, also assisted by the Forensic Unit, the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) and some other agencies.
“As for carrying the skeletal remains, the Forensic Unit will decide as the main focus now is to locate other graves,“ he said.
Meanwhile, Hasanuddin said the village (Kampung Kuala Koh) has been declared as a Red Zone and entrance to the village would be closed until the operation and investigations were completed.
“Except for the operations team, the media and civilian personnel, including non-governmental organisations are not allowed to enter the village at the moment,“ he said.
However, he said for farm workers entering and leaving the plantation near the village, it would depend on the plantation’s management. — Bernama
