Police are looking for the family or friends of the tattooed victim.
A dead body was found floating near the SMK Pulau Gaya jetty at Gaya Island off Kota Kinabalu yesterday morning.
The fully-dressed, unidentified male was believed to have died from drowning, according to district police chief Assistant Commissioner M Chandra.
“Police at the island were alerted to the discovery at 6.45am. The deceased’s left hand was found still gripping a life buoy.
“The victim did not have any identification documents on him. He has a tattoo on the back of his body.
“The life buoy also bore no labels. The district police are currently trying to look for family members or friends of the deceased,” Chandra said in a statement.
He said the case has been classified as sudden death. A post-mortem examination will be conducted at the Queen Elizabeth 1 Hospital.
Chandra urged the public who knew the victim to contact the investigation officer, ASP Zulfikar Abdul Salam, at 019-8009455 or contact the nearest police station.