Police today confirmed that the three charred remains found inside a Toyota Vios, which rammed into a tree before catching fire at Jalan Masjid Negeri in Penang on Monday, were that of two men and a woman, in their 20s.
Northeast district police chief Assistant Commissioner Soffian Santong said three families, who claimed to be the next-of-kin of the accident victims, had come forward to make an identification yesterday.
“However, the identification of the bodies could not prove that those present were the next-of-kin of the accident victims as the personal items obtained from the three bodies were insufficient and there were no special identifying features on all the victims that could aid in identification.
“As such, the Penang Hospital Forensic Department had taken deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples from each of the victim’s next-of-kin to be sent to the Chemistry Department for the purpose of verifying the identity of the body,” he said today.
Soffian said the post-mortem results on the three bodies confirmed the cause of death as “severe burns in an individual involved in a road traffic collision”.
Soffian said all three bodies would be kept in the morgue while awaiting the DNA results.
“Once confirmed, the body will be handed over to family members,” he added.
On Monday, police urged those with missing family members to come forward to assist in investigation following the recovery of three charred remains inside a Toyota Vios.
Police also urged those with any information about the incident to contact any of the police station.
It was reported that police received a call at about 3.05am of an accident involving a Toyota Vios, which was believed to have skidded and rammed into a tree at the junction of Jalan Masjid Negeri/Jalan Tembaga, Penang.
When they arrived at the scene, they found that the car was burnt more than 90 per cent.
Initial investigation revealed that there were three people, including the driver, inside the car.
All the victims were burnt nearly 90 percent.
The case is probed under Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987. – NST