A 22-year-old man who was reported missing since last Monday after fleeing into a forest area was found nude and clinging to a tree in a swamp area near a fishing village in Tok Bali here yesterday.

Pasir Puteh district police chief DSP Ediansha Endal said Ahmad Zul Mukhriz Zakaria was found by villagers who went to the scene after hearing shouts for help at about 8.15 pm.

"The victim was found in weak condition and there were scratches on several parts of his body. He was then sent to Tengku Anis Hospital, Pasir Puteh, for treatment," he said in a statement today.

He said a search and rescue operation, involving 44 members from the Fire and Rescue Department, Civil Defence Force, Malaysian Fisheries Development Board and Rela, was mounted following a missing person report on the victim.

The victim was said to have fled into a forest area near a fishing village in Tok Bali last Jan 12 after seeing a police patrol car.

-- BERNAMA