KUANTAN: The family of Muhammad Izzat Abdul Wahab, a victim of a job scam syndicate who allegedly died after being rescued by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Myanmar, is hopeful that the post-mortem scheduled for Oct 21 will cast light on the circumstances surrounding his untimely death.
Izzat, 28, had allegedly suffered a heart attack while in detention to complete his documentation process (to return to Malaysia) at the immigration centre in Myanmar on Oct 14 after he was rescued by the NGO a couple of days earlier.
His wife Nurul Diyana Mohd Shukri, 27, said that Izzat's body was currently kept at a hospital in Tachileik, Myanmar, before being transferred to Yangon General Hospital on Oct 21 for post-mortem procedures.
"The family was informed that my husband died at the immigration centre due to heart issues and we have not received any medical reports. As far as the family is concerned, my husband is a healthy person… we will wait for the post-mortem findings.
"The family has decided to bury him in Myanmar and I have accepted it (that the remains will not be brought to Kuantan)," she told reporters when met at her in-laws' house in Kampung Peramu here today.
Meanwhile, Nurul Diyana said her brothers-in-law Muhammad Hasmalizam, 45, and Mohd Asmawi, 43, along with a nephew had gone to Kuala Lumpur to make visa arrangements to travel to Yangon on Friday.
"They are in Kuala Lumpur today to complete the visa application process. The three of them will travel to Myanmar to claim the body for burial," she said.
On his trip to Thailand before ending up in Myanmar, Nurul Diyana said she was reluctant to allow him to travel overseas alone on Oct 7 but he informed her the job was only for three days.
"He only told me about the trip on Oct 6, a day before he was supposed to travel to Thailand and he did not inform any of his family members apart from me… I was already worried when he mentioned going to Thailand.
"The last time we spoke, he told me that he was in Bangkok and will return home soon but I have no idea how he went to Myanmar before being rescued by the NGO and being held at the immigration centre," she said.
As her eldest son Muhammad Nu'man, 6, suddenly rushed towards her asking for her handphone, Nurul Diyana handed him the gadget saying he had accepted the fact that his father was no longer around.
"He watched the news (about the incident) on television and seemed aware about what happened to his father.
The younger sibling Muhammad Naqib Anaqi is very close to Izzat and will always cling to him when he is at home," she said as her eyes gazed towards Naqib who was playing with a relative.
It is learnt that representatives from the NGO which helped to rescue Izzat from a hotel in Myanmar on Oct 11 after he alerted them for help will be meeting Izzat's family tomorrow.
It was reported yesterday that Izzat had been allegedly tricked to travel to Bangkok on Oct 7 before he was rescued by a NGO who handed him to the Myanmar immigration. He allegedly died while in detention at the immigration centre on Oct 14.
His wife learnt about his death after she received a telephone call about 11pm on Oct 14 from a man claiming to be representing a NGO based in Malaysia informing about Izzat's death due to heart issues.