Man finds infant daughter's grave dug up

A man lodged two police reports on Friday after finding the grave of his infant daughter dug up to a depth of a metre at the Kampung Binjai Berambu graveyard in Padang Midin here.

Kamaruddin Muhammad, 44, made the reports at the Chabang Tiga police station near here and the Terengganu police headquarters here after the village development and security committee members notified him of the matter at about 9 am following a 'gotong royong' (self-help) clean-up at the graveyard.

His daughter Siti Nur Anisah, the youngest of six siblings, had died eight months ago of heart complications and a lung infection at the age of nine months.

Kamaruddin said he was even more shocked to find that the earth that had been dug up was nowhere to be seen.

"I believe this must be the work of people who believe in superstitious practices. Only the grave of my daughter had been dug up," he told reporters.

A team of policemen, two of them from the Terengganu CID, conducted an investigation in the evening.

Kamaruddin said he got the help of fellow villagers to fill the grave with earth.

He said he advised the village committee to take measures to ensure that the graveyard of almost 100 years was not encroached by irresponsible people as well as to consider building a perimeter fence.

Kamaruddin said he did not wish to ask the police to have the grave dug up because he assumed that his daughter's remains were still there undisturbed.

"I cannot understand why someone would stoop to such an immoral act and engage in superstitious practices in this modern age," he said.