No stench from human remains in durian orchard
BATU PAHAT: A caretaker and hired farmhands of a durian orchard were shocked when police found a human skeleton as they did not pick up any foul smell while working in the location.
Wong, 72, said he commutes every day to the orchard next to the Komplex Penghulu Mukim Linau to clean the site and pick matured durian fruit fallen on its own (unripe durian hardly emanates a smell).
He said in his 30 years of gardening at the six acres orchard, this is the first time a human skeleton was found at the location, barring animal bones which he occasionally stumble upon.
“Four days ago, I did find a bone in the orchard during cleaning work but I did not think it belonged to a human and assumed it belonged to an animal since there was no unpleasant smell.
“Yesterday I saw police in the orchard, claiming a human skeleton was found,” he said on Tuesday, adding that he was asked to make a report.
Meanwhile, Komplex Penghulu Mukim Linau construction supervisor Mohd Rizza Masri, 38, also attested that there was no stench from the orchard, although he was working in the vicinity about 50m away for the past two months.
“The other workers and I laboured on as usual until (yesterday, when) many people came with police, then we heard about a skeleton and a motorcycle allegedly belonging to a teenager, who was reported missing last month.”
On Tuesday, police said the human skeleton is believed to be Hafiz Fauzan Abdul Halid, a form five student at SM Agama Parit Raja who was reported missing on May 26.
A motorcycle almost identical to the one ridden by Hafiz was also found in the orchard based on the registration plate number, that his family shared on social media.
It is believed that the teenager crashed into the orchard with his bike and fell wedged among the trees, leading to his death.
Police said the identity of the skeleton will soon be confirmed with the conclusion of a DNA test.