A family photograph showing (from left) Jayalatchumy, Rajan, Sugan, Thilagawati and Puvaneswary during happier times.

SUNGAI SIPUT: Four days after the death of a rubber estate owner, the charred remains of his wife and three children were found at their burnt house in Taman Bukit Medan here.

The Fire and Rescue Department personnel found the bodies of S. Jayalatchumy, 45, R. Thilagawati, 23, R. Puvaneswary, 21, and R. Suhan, 17, in the kitchen of the rented single-storey house after midnight.

When firefighters went to the kitchen area, they found two bodies hugging each other, while the other two bodies were found nearby.

Sungai Siput OCPD Supt Azman Salim said police had not ruled out that the four took their lives as they could not accept Rajan's death.

“However, we are still carrying out investigations,” he added.

On Feb 1, the estate owner, M. Rajan, 48, believed to have been suffering from a prolonged illness, died at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh.

His wife and children cremated him the next day without informing relatives about it.

Grim find: Fire and Rescue department personnel preparing to remove the bodies from the house in Taman Bukit Medan, Sungai Siput

The eldest daughter is believed to be working as a clerk at Tenaga Nasional, while the other daughter was studying in a college and the youngest son, a student at SK Kampung Muhibbah.

Jayalatchumy's shocked brother Ramesh Rao, 47, said it had been three years since his sister and her family had cut ties with the entire family, including that of Rajan's.

Ramesh, a production operator at a factory here, said the five had been very close to each other and stopped mixing with other people for unknown reasons.

“I did not even know that my brother-in-law had died until I was told by a policeman upon hearing that my sister's house had caught fire at about 2.40am yesterday,” he said at the Sungai Siput hospital mortuary here yesterday.

Ramesh said the five of them never attended any functions, be it weddings, funerals or any other gatherings.

“The five could not live without each other.

“My sister and her children would have been devastated over Rajan's death,” he said.

Sungai Siput BN coordinator R. Ganesan said he had spoken to the Sungai Siput BN chairman Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, who said that MIC would take care of the funeral.

Ganesan said the funeral was expected to be held today.

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