GUA MUSANG, June 14 ― Three bodies of Batek tribe members in Kuala Koh found in the search operations by the authorities on Wednesday were brought out of the jungle at 5.55pm today and sent to the Gua Musang hospital for post-mortem. 

Gua Musang district police chief Supt Mohd Taufik Maidin said the remains are believed to be those of Din Hamdan, 18, Fayah Papan, 19, and her sister, Safia, 18.

“They were buried between within two to five kilometres from each other and believed to have died between May 20 and May 22.

“The remaining five bodies marked before this will be brought out in stages after this,” he told reporters at Felda Aring 10, here, today.

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Earlier today, police brought out the body of Puja a/p Joh, in her 20s and who was earlier confirmed to have died from pneumonia, to undergo a second post mortem.

Asked about the four more bodies said to be have been buried upstream of Sungai Lebir, Mohd Taufik said the search team will be heading there tomorrow.

“I was made to understand by Orang Asli trackers that the location lies deep in the jungle and would take about four or five hours along the river.

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“We will go in early tomorrow so that the search team will not have to spend the night there,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mohd Taufik said police will investigate the case as sudden deaths. 

The plight of the Batek tribe gained national attention after 14 of them were reported to have died from pneumonia.

Latest statistics obtained at the media centre here reveal that up to June 13, a total of 103 Orang Asli have received treatment, out of which 56 as outpatients while 42 were placed in normal wards and five more in the intensive care units of the Gua Musang hospital, Kuala Krai hospital and the Raja Perempuan Zainab II (HRPZII) hospital in Kota Baru.

They comprise 50 male and 53 female patients, of which 53 were children. ― Bernama