IPOH: The man who was rescued by the Fire and Rescue Department from the forest at Meru Raya earlier on Saturday (June 10) has a mental illness.
Ipoh OCPD Asst Comm Yahaya Hassan said the 41-year-old man, from Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, had been referred to a psychiatrist at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital last year.
"He has a history of schizophrenia and hallucination.
"He stopped taking medicine in January this year," he said in a statement on Saturday.
The man, identified by the Perak Fire and Rescue Department as Mohamad Suhairy Mohamed, had called for help after getting lost in the forest near the National Audit Department building on Friday (June 9) at about 11.45pm.
Mohamad Suhairy was said to have entered the forest last Sunday (June 3).
ACP Yahaya said the man had been sent to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital for observation.
"According to the doctor, the man is in stable condition though his blood pressure was a little low due to not having eaten for about six days.
"Having interviewed the man, he told us that he wanted to live alone and did not like living with other people," he said, adding that the man was an orphan who had been living by himself since completing secondary school in 1999.
ACP Yahaya said the man had called for help after suffering from shortness of breath after he got lost in the forest.
"We have advised the man not to do anything that could endanger himself. He understood and promised not to do it again," he added.
