MELAKA: A contractor was found dead in his home in Taman Malim Jaya here yesterday by his friend after he failed to contact them for several days.

Melaka Tengah district police chief ACP Christopher Patit said the body of Abdul Rahim Abd Rahman, 69, who was single, was found by firefighters when they broke down the locked door of his house at about 7 pm yesterday.

His friend contacted the authorities when they spotted his prone feet from outside the window during a visit as they had not heard from Abdul Rahim on the evening of May 1 and repeated attempts to contact him had failed.

“The last time they met him was on Thursday when he came to their shop to chat and complained about wheezing and shortness of breath, claiming it was due to eating a large amount of ice cream.

“The victim was last seen heading to Kampung Pokok Mangga Mosque for construction work at about 3 pm on Friday,” he said in a statement today.

Christopher also said that the victim’s neighbour mentioned that he suffered from wheezing and complained of chest pain but avoided hospitals, preferring pharmacies and private clinics only.

“The victim was large-built and frequently did heavy work such as lifting cement and rocks to build houses,” he said, adding that his body had been sent to Melaka Hospital for a postmortem.