KUALA LUMPUR: For days, the tenants of a house in Taman Desa Setapak had no idea that they were living under one roof with a dead body.
Their neighbours had detected a stench in the air for several days. However, the body, belonging to a female Bangladeshi woman, was only found after her employer came to the house, located at Jalan 13/27B, Taman Desa Setapak, to check up on her.
The deceased was identified as Akter Dilruba, in her 30s.
Wangsa Maju district police chief Superintendent Mohamad Roy Suhaimi Sarif said police were alerted to the death by Akter's employer, about 2pm.
"She rented the only room at the ground floor and had lived there for about six months. She is married but her family is in Bangladesh.
"She worked in a restaurant in the city centre. Her employer came to check up on her only to learn about her death," he said.
Police are still investigating the incident.
The incident triggered curiosity among the neighbours. A neighbour who lives just a few doors away from Akter's house, said that as far as he knew, the house comprised of six people including Akter.
"I smelled something strange three days ago and thought that it was a dead rat. I'm shocked to now learn that it came from a dead body.
"I wonder how the housemates didn't know that someone is dead inside the house," he said, adding that the tenants kept a fierce dog in front of the house, which was nowhere to be seen today.
A restaurant worker, who works in a restaurant opposite the house, also said he had smelt something rotten since yesterday.