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BALING – The burnt body of an elderly woman was found after her two-storey house near Taman Seri Baling here caught fire at around midnight.
Baling district police chief Shamsudin Mamat said in a statement today that the victim was identified as Lim Phaik Luang @ Lim Pek Aiee, 82, and her body was found at 12.45am today, adding that the fire had involved another double-storey house that was unoccupied at the time of the incident.
“The victim, a single mother who lived alone, is believed to have died after being trapped in the house as she could not escape during the fire.
“The investigating officer was informed by firefighters that the house, measuring 20x40 sq ft, was 90% burnt. The distance between both houses was around 5m,” he said.
Preliminary reports received by the Fire and Rescue Department indicated the blaze was likely started by a short circuit and there was no element of foul play so far, but further investigation was ongoing to discover its true cause.
“The fire is believed to have started from the victim’s house, which then spread to the nearby house. The firefighters were able to control the fire from spreading further,” Shamsudin said, adding that the victim’s body had been sent to Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Star for autopsy.
According to a Kedah Fire Department spokesman, it received a call about the fire at 11.53am and a team arrived at the scene four minutes later.
“The fire was controlled by 12.54am and firefighting operations ended at 5.16am,” the spokesman said. – Bernama, April 23, 2023