Malaysian man about to cremate ‘son’ gets phone call, telling him he has the wrong body

Mr Chantren said he received a call from the prison authorities that his son had died in Sungai Buloh Prison. PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

PETALING JAYA, Selangor – A mourning father from the state of Negeri Sembilan was shocked to find out that his son, who the authorities said had died in prison last week, is still alive.

The father, who wanted to be identified only as Mr Chantren, told Malay daily Sinar Harian that the family’s ordeal started when he received a call from the prison authorities last Friday saying that his son, whom he did not name, had died in Sungai Buloh Prison in Selangor.

He said he did not know why his son, 19, was in prison. As far as he knew, his son was living and working in the town of Selayang in Selangor.

Mr Chantren was told to claim his son’s remains at Sungai Buloh Hospital, which he did together with several other family members.

“When we looked (at the remains), we noticed that the face was different after post-mortem because there were suture marks and his hair had also been shaved,” he told reporters at his house.

Upon claiming the body from the hospital, Mr Chantren and his family prepared for the funeral rites and made arrangements to cremate the young man’s remains.

However, to the family’s surprise, they were informed just a few hours before the cremation that Mr Chantren’s son was still alive.

“We received a call from the prison authority about three or four hours before the cremation time – and they informed us that my son was still alive.

“They did a video call (to show us that he was alive). I do not know how to even express my feelings. Our son is still alive, but whose body is at our house now?” said the perplexed man.

According to Mr Chantren, officials from the prison had since gone to his house and collected the body.

Mr Chantren has also made a request to visit his son in prison. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

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