KUALA LANGAT • A man who returned with tools to catch a 3.5m-long python after spotting it ended up being killed by the reptile.

Mr Zaim Khalis Kosnan, 35, from Kampung Jenjarom saw the snake on his way home at about 3am yesterday.

"The victim had told his elder sister about his intention when he arrived home for the tools.

"Then he left the house with a pair of gloves and a sickle on his motorcycle to capture the snake," Superintendent Azizan Tukiman, Kuala Langat officer-in-charge of police district told The Star.

He said initial investigations found that the victim fell from his motorcycle on the side of a road in the village after the reptile began constricting him.

"Several passers-by who found him struggling on the ground tried to rescue him but he died soon after. However, they managed to kill the animal to free the victim's body later."

When contacted, the victim's brother-in-law Mohd Noor Radiman, 54, said Mr Zaim Khalis was a quiet person who kept to himself.

"I believe he was holding the reptile's head while transporting it on his motorcycle when it started to coil around his body and constrict him.

"We are saddened by this sudden and tragic news," he said.

Supt Azizan said the victim's remains had been sent to the Banting Hospital for a post-mortem.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK