Post-mortem reveals marathon participant drowned - Police

KUALA TERENGGANU: A post-mortem has revealed drowning as the cause of death of the 16-year-old boy who was found dead after participating in a marathon in the Sekayu recreational forest in Kuala Berang last Saturday, police said.

Hulu Terengganu Police deputy chief Rosli Mohd Amir said the post-mortem conducted at the Hulu Terengganu Hospital showed that Ahmad Rafikin Azman, a Form Four student of Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Mahmud, Kuala Terengganu, had died three days before his body was found yesterday by a search team.

"The post-mortem showed that he had drowned. There were no serious injury marks on the body," he said when contacted by Bernama today.

Ahmad Rafikin failed to complete the Gunung Gajah Terom Marathon on Saturday and his father, Azman Othman, 50, who had come to fetch him after the race, lodged a police report when his son didn't turn up.

The boy's body was found by a search team at about 3.30pm yesterday, caught between rocks near a river not far from the marathon track.

Meanwhile, Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman has called for a probe and a report from the State Forestry Department and the marathon organisers over Ahmad Rafikin's death.

"I have sought an explanation from the State Forestry Department director because the authority to permit the use of the forest area rests with the department.

"I am made to understand that the track had never been used before. How can permission be given for the use of the track and why was security not stepped up by the organisers?" he said.

Ahmad Rafikin was laid to rest at the Jalan Pusara Muslim Cemetery in Hulu Terengganu earlier today.