Decomposed body found in Sengkurong

A SEVERELY burnt and badly decomposed body of a man was discovered on Tuesday by the public in an area around Kg Selayun, Sengkurong, and the police have not ruled out foul play.

In a press conference at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) yesterday, CID Director SAC Peng Eng Lee said early investigations by pathology experts established that the man has been dead for approximately three to four days, based on the state of decomposition and other findings at the scene.

No other evidence was found at the scene of the incident to establish the cause of death. However, police have ruled out natural or accidental causes, given the state of the body.

The CID director said that the RBPF, through the Sengkurong Police Station, received a report from the public about the discovery of some human remains, mostly skeletal, near Simpang 124-122 in Kg Selayun around 9pm on Tuesday.

According to SAC Peng, the body of the man was burnt from the waist up, leaving only skeletal remains, while the rest of his body was badly decomposed.

Upon arrival at the scene, investigating officers found the body of the man lying face down in the ditch in a burnt and badly decomposed state.

No identification or any personal items were found near the remains. However, the police are trying to determine his identity through other methods, such as fingerprinting, DNA and so on, said SAC Peng.

SAC Peng declined to give any further information due to ongoing investigations.

He requested the public with any knowledge on the matter to inform the nearest police station or to contact the CID at 2232001-7 if they have any information, or if they heard anything or saw anything that happened in or around the vicinity of the area where the body was found.

He also urged the public to come forward if they have any relatives or friends who went missing in the last week to report to the nearest police station.

The Brunei Times