Saturday January 26, 2013

Family finds out real story from teen’s friends after finding body in river

By REGINA LEE
regina@thestar.com.my

KAJANG: A father's anguish over the death of his child was further exa- cerbated when he found out that the boy's friends had “covered up” the truth.

Lorry driver M. Thamilchelvan said that his 13-year-old son Thibban went missing on Sunday evening when his friends invited him to play football at a field near their flat in Taman Kajang Mewah.

The teenager promised to come back by 6pm but he never returned, prompting his parents to search for him.

It was on Tuesday that the police called Thamilchelvan to tell him that a boy's body, believed to be Thibban's, was found at the riverbank at Sungai Tangkas near Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, more than 5km away from their house.

“The police asked us to identify the body. We could not recognise the face because the body had decomposed, but we recognised a prayer string around the waist that was similar to what Thibban was wearing,” said Thamilchelvan at his house here yesterday.

Puzzled at why his son had ended up in the river, he asked around his neighbourhood until a security guard at a construction site said that he spotted Thibban together with his friends taking a swim in the river on the day of the disappearance.

<b>Heartbroken:</b> M. Jayanti holding her son Thibban’s picture as she is overcome with emotion at Taman Kajang Mewah, Kajang. Looking on are Thamilchelvan and daughters Subashini (behind Thamilchelvan) and Shamala (right).

Heartbroken: M. Jayanti holding her son Thibban’s picture as she is overcome with emotion at Taman Kajang Mewah, Kajang. Looking on are Thamilchelvan and daughters Subashini (behind Thamilchelvan) and Shamala (right).

“His friends earlier told me that all they did was play football and Thibban went back home early.

“When I pressed them again, they finally owned up and told me the truth that they had actually gone swimming in the river and Thibban was swept away by the strong currents,” said Thamilchelvan.

However, his troubles did not end there when he alleged that he could not claim his son's body from the mortuary in Serdang Hospital and was put through bureaucratic hoops for several days.

It was only yesterday evening, three days after the body was found that he could collect his son's body.

News

Saturday January 26, 2013

Family finds out real story from teen’s friends after finding body in river

By REGINA LEE regina@thestar.com.my

By REGINA LEE
regina@thestar.com.my