Singaporean found dead days after car plunges into Penang ravine

A 28-year-old Singaporean man who went missing after attending a wake in Penang was found dead in a ravine on March 12, said the Malaysian authorities.

Mr Bennedd Chew Wei Fung was travelling in Georgetown from the Farlim neighbourhood to his home in Relau when his car plunged 50m into a ravine while he was driving along Jalan Paya Terubong.

Georgetown district police station inspector Shahrul Nizam Abdullah told The Straits Times that Mr Chew was reported missing on the morning of March 9 by a close friend who could not reach him on the phone.

“The victim was later found by some workers who were doing maintenance works at a new highway in that area and happened to see a car in the forest,” said Mr Shahrul, who is from the traffic police department.

The workers called the authorities immediately, and the man’s body was found outside his car, he added.

Mr Shahrul said his team and the Penang Fire and Rescue Department were alerted to the incident at 1.10pm, and arrived at the scene at 2.05pm.

He added that Mr Chew’s body is now at Penang General Hospital and an autopsy will be performed on March 13 to determine the cause of death.

Mr Chew’s mother joined the search and rescue team in Penang, reported Malaysian media outlets.

“Fung, mummy will take you back to Singapore. Fung, you heard me?” she was heard calling out for her son.

“Follow mummy back to Singapore. Mummy (will) bring you home. Fung!”

ST has contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more information.

Mr Chew’s is the second Singaporean death reported in Malaysia in two days.

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On March 11, a 60-year-old Singaporean was killed after a tour van he was travelling in collided with a lorry in Sabah.

The van was travelling along Jalan Semporna-Tawau in Sabah’s Semporna district in the east coast when the accident happened.

A 40-year-old Vietnamese woman also died in the accident.

Four other Singaporeans in the van, including an 11-year-old girl, were injured and taken to hospital.

The injuries ranged from a brain haemorrhage to an elbow fracture.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.