Police investigating petrol leak after mum and daughter found dead in car near Johor school

A woman and her teenage daughter were found dead in a BMW parked near a primary school in Johor on Thursday (Jan 23) night. 

Johor Bahru North police chief Assistant Commissioner Balveer Singh Mahindar Singh said the bodies of the deceased, aged 42 and 14, were discovered by members of the public at about 9pm. 

The police received a report about the incident at about 10pm, reported The Star.

Singh added the pair were believed to be shopping nearby before stopping to take a break, based on text messages found on the woman's phone. 

She reportedly told her friends she had just finished shopping in the Bandar Baru Uda area, and wanted to rest as she was feeling unwell. 

Investigations revealed that the woman had three children, and the 14-year-old girl was her youngest, reported Bernama. Her husband works in Singapore. 

"We are still investigating the matter, but early findings suggest there was a petrol leakage in the car’s engine, which caused fumes to enter the air-conditioning system," he said during a press conference on Jan 24. 

Witnesses at the scene told police that the car engine was still running when the woman and her daughter were found. 

Singh also confirmed that were no criminal elements involved in the incident. 

Their bodies have been sent to Hospital Sultanah Aminah for a postmortem.

Johor police are still in the midst of obtaining other pieces of information, including the woman's occupation and her health records, said Singh.

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claudiatan@asiaone.com