Wanted man held during death probe

JOHOR BARU: The sudden death of a 19-year-old girl at a hotel lobby in Taman Sentosa here led to the arrest of a wanted man.

Johor Baru (South) deputy OCPD Supt Abdul Samad Salleh said the police were notified about the teenager’s death by the hotel staff at around 9.15am on Sunday.

The girl, who was identified as Yong Chin Yee from Kulaijaya, had been staying at the hotel for the past two days with a male companion.

She went down to the lobby complaining to the staff that she was suffering from chest pains, and suddenly fainted at the counter.

“The hotel staff administered first aid on her but she died before the ambulance arrived,” said Supt Abdul Samad.

During investigations, police searched the victim’s hotel room and found a 24-year-old man inside, he said.

Checks revealed that the man was wanted by the police under Section 506 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation in relation to a case which occurred two years ago.

Supt Abdul Samad said the man was arrested, but stressed that investigations so far had not linked him to the girl’s death.

The girl had no physical injuries and the body had been sent to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital for a post-mortem.

”We have classified the case as sudden death, unless the post-mortem result shows otherwise. If so, we will investigate the matter,” he said.