Police confirm no criminal motive in Unimas student's death

Police have confirmed that the death of a Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) student whose body was found floating in a river on campus as having no criminal motive and classified the case as sudden death.

The body of Siti Najwa Atiqah Azhar, 19, was found at about 6pm Tuesday after she was reported missing since Jan 4.

Kota Samarahan Police Chief DSP Lee Chong Chern said the cause of her death was verified by a post-mortem carried out by doctors and medical officers from the Sarawak General Hospital (HUS) here.

"The doctors' reports state the student's body was decomposing and she was believed to have died several days ago.

"The body was found intact with small cuts believed to be a result of fish bites," he told reporters here. According to Chong Chern, the police will receive the full post-mortem report from HUS in a few days.

Meanwhile, he said the body had already been claimed by family members and was sent for burial in Penang at 4pm Wwednesday.