KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 — For 35 days, a contractor went about his chores while the corpse of his 42-year-old wife decomposed in the master bedroom of their double-storey house in Damai Impian here.
When friends of the family asked about her, he would give vague replies, never giving any hint something was not right.
Police said their 16-year-old son knew his mother, Lim Ah Di, had died but had given his father time to confront the reality of her death.
The macabre pretense of the 47-year-old man came to an end on Saturday when he went to the Alam Damai police station to say his wife had died from a heart attack on September 21.
The dark secret of the man, who often spoke to the corpse, shocked the police who found her body on the bed well-cleaned with fresh clothes, indicating that he changed her clothes regularly, and in a well-scented room, suggesting the room had been sprayed with perfume to minimise the stench of the decomposing body.
Police did not find any sign of foul play when they carried out forensic investigations in the house.
The bizarre case has shaken the neighbourhood where residents described the couple as a loving pair.
Kajang police chief ACP Ab Rashid Ab Wahab said the man was not arrested and that he was distraught that his wife of more than 20 years had died.
“He may be sent for psychiatric observation but will face the consequences of failing to report his wife’s death to the National Registration Department within 48 hours,” he said.
Ab Rashid said police had also interviewed neighbours and family members who described the contractor as a good and friendly man who was always seen with his family.
The statement of the 16-year-old son had also been recorded by police as part of their investigations.
Police believed the son knew that his mother had died on September 21 as she had complained of chest pains.
Initial investigations suggested Lim had died of heart attack.
