Tiger Attack On Man Answering Call Of Nature In Gerik

IPOH, Oct 15 (Bernama) -- A man fell prey to a tiger attack at dawn when he went out to answer the call of nature in Gerik today.

Perak police chief Datuk Azizi Mat Aris said the victim, a 54-year-old man, worked as a heavy machinery operator and was mauled by the tiger when going to the outdoor toilet at the workers’ quarters at Bagan Balak.

He said the terrifying twist of nature was witnessed by no other than the victim’s wife who is a Thai national and works as a cook.

According to Azizi, the Gerik district control centre received information about the incident at about 8.25 am today.

“The attack was believed to have happened between 5 am and 6 am when the victim was going to the toilet, and the complainant (wife), mortified on hearing a tiger roaring, opened the door of the house only to see the tiger dragging him into the nearby bush,” he said in a statement today.

Azizi said that at about 10.30 am, the police chief of Bersia police station, together with three junior policemen and assisted by the Criminal Investigation Division of Gerik district police headquarters (IPD) and 10 members of the Department of Wildlife Protection and National Parks (Perhilitan), went to the location of the incident for investigation as well as a search and rescue (SAR) operation.

He said that at about noon, the victim was found dead, approximately 100 metres from the workers’ quarters, with severe injury to the left leg and neck.

“The case was classified as sudden death (SDR). At 1.30 pm today, the victim's body was sent to Gerik Hospital for a post-mortem,” he said.

Meanwhile, Perak Perhilitan director Yusoff Shariff said a team has been assigned to maintain a stakeout and monitor the situation at the scene, and that they would also set up a special trap to catch the tiger, tomorrow.

So far, Perhilitan has yet to receive any other report about a roaming tiger at the location, he added.

-- BERNAMA