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THE Syariah High Court in Seremban has confirmed that the two children who tragically drowned in the Sungai Linggi incident last week were Muslim, resolving public uncertainty regarding their religious status.
Negeri Sembilan Police Chief, Datuk Alzafny Ahmad, said the confirmation was delivered during a court hearing on Tuesday.
“The Syariah High Court judge has ruled that both victims are Muslim and ordered that their burial be conducted in accordance with Islamic rites,” he said in a statement.
The burial will be managed by the Negeri Sembilan Islamic Religious Affairs Department (JHEAINS), and the children will be laid to rest at the Maqbarah Salimah Cemetery in Port Dickson.
Alzafny added that the next of kin had authorised JHEAINS to claim the bodies on their behalf.
Previously, JHEAINS had offered to assist with funeral arrangements following uncertainty over the children’s religious status, owing to their Chinese names listed on official documents.
JHEAINS Director, Mohd Asri Abdullah, said police had formally requested the department to verify the children's religious background.
“We conducted checks after the father informed us that the children had been converted to Islam in Kelantan. However, the Kelantan Islamic Religious Department had no record of such conversion, nor did JHEAINS,” he said.
Mohd Asri explained that, in the absence of official documentation, the department relied on the father’s verbal testimony regarding their conversion and requested a written declaration from him, submitted via the police.
The victims, aged six and eight, drowned after the car they were in slipped into the river. At the time, they were in the vehicle with their father and a woman. It is believed the car had been parked near the riverbank with the engine off while the father stepped out to smoke. - September 9, 2025