Being trapped somewhere can be absolutely terrifying. We can only imagine the fear this disabled couple felt when they got stuck in a lift at a train station last month. It’s even more horrifying if you were stuck in your own home and there was no way to call for help.
Unfortunately, that’s what happened to this man who was found dead in his apartment unit in Petaling Jaya recently. According to local reports last Friday (11th August), the discovery of his death happened last month when neighbours found his lifeless body after his disappearance.
It was reported that the man was working as an e-hailing driver and was unable to pay rent for 3 months. Due to the delayed payment, the landlord locked the apartment unit from the outside, allegedly without checking if the tenant was still inside. According to SinChew, the deceased also had not paid his phone bills, rendering him unable to call for help from inside the building.
It is still currently unknown if the tenant’s phone had any reception from his unit to call the emergency helpline, which is free. The deceased’s family was distraught when they were contacted regarding the death of their loved one. After learning what happened, the family planned to sue the landlord for negligence.
The landlord told reporters that she assumed the e-hailing driver had moved away and only realised something was wrong after receiving a call from the authorities. She also claimed that she tried calling the deceased multiple times but no one answered.
Apart from that, the landlord rebutted the family’s suspicions that the deceased starved to death, claiming that he could’ve used the balcony in his unit’s living room or kitchen to escape his predicament. Regardless, the family’s lawyers emphasised that locking the unit without properly checking if it was vacant was dangerous and potentially life-threatening. Police told the landlord to allow the deceased’s family to collect his belongings.
After the story broke out, many offered their condolences while some condemned the landlord for locking the apartment unit instead filing a report against the tenant as it could’ve saved him from death. At the time of writing, there have been no updates regarding this case.
Source: SinChew
