Grave of Muslim Bateq tribesperson exhumed

Police have exhumed the grave of Muslim Bateq tribe member Romin Hamdan, 29, at Kampung Kuala Koh, Gua Musang in Kelantan who was confirmed dead on May 29 due to pneumonia.

Gua Musang District Police Chief Mohd Taufik Maidin said the excavation was made today and his body was sent to Gua Musang Hospital for further investigations at 3.40pm.

Romin is one of two deceased Bateq tribe members who were Muslim. Their initial post-mortems deemed that they died from pneumonia.

The exhumations come as authorities investigate multiple deaths at the village since early May. The area has been cordoned off and the villagers placed under close health supervision. 

The other 12 fatalities at the village were buried according to traditional rites far away from the village site. Eight of the 12 bodies have since been recovered.

The traditional burial practice of the Bateq is for the corpse to be wrapped in tree bark and carried across a river which, according to their belief system, prevents the spirit from returning to the village.

The body is then harnessed to a tall tree in the burial area using vines and is left there to decompose. Burial grounds are considered taboo by the Bateq.

According to Mohd Taufik, Romin's body had previously been examined by the hospital and he was buried at the village's Muslim cemetery.

"We have to re-examine the bodies for further investigations by the hospital," he told a press conference at the Operations Centre in Felda Aring 10, today.

"Three search teams have entered the burial area and as a result of the information received, we have found four more (graves) around the Kuala Koh area.

"So far, eight people have been found and we have to remember each location of the discovery. At this time we have not removed the eight bodies," said Mohd Taufik.

He added that the four bodies detected today were found at different locations which took between 15 minutes to three hours on foot. He said the operation would continue tomorrow to track the remaining four bodies.

"The next four bodies will have to be searched for and their location marked," he said. - Mkini