KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — A man was killed in a fire at a two-storey terrace house in Jalan Bidara 2, Selayang, near here, this morning.

However, five of his family members managed to escape in time in the 6.40am incident.

Tei Mo Kwan, 46, was found dead in a kneeling state with his head covered with a blanket in one of the rooms in the house.

Hulu Selangor Zone Fire Department Forensics Unit chief Nor Najila Budin said the victim allegedly died of suffocation due to inhalation of smoke and being trapped in the room.

Nor Najila said an inspection done by firemen found that the house did not have electricity supply, thus rejecting the possibility that the fire was caused by a short circuit.

“According to officials from Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), the affected house had been using an illegal connection since December last year, before being detected by them (TNB) two days ago. We are still investigating the actual cause of the incident,” she said.

Nor Najila said the five other members of the family, who were in another room, managed to save themselves and get out of the house by breaking a window.

They were the victim’s younger brother, who experienced shortness of breath due to smoke inhalation, the brother’s wife and their three children, who were not injured.

Two fire-engines from the Selayang and Rawang fire stations were deployed along with 17 firemen during the incident, and they arrived at the scene at 6.53 am.

The fire was brought under control about half an hour later.

The victim’s body was sent to the Selayang Hospital for autopsy.

Meanwhile, a relative of victim, Edmond Tan, 33, said the house was an inheritance and the family had been living there for more than 20 years.

“He said Tei was unemployed and live at the house with the family of his younger brother who works as a mechanic,” he said. — Bernama