JITRA: A religious ceremony at a temple in Kuala Sanglang turned tragic for a 68-year-old man who died in a cauldron filled with hot water at midnight on Monday.
Lim Ba was found unconscious in the cauldron. He is believed to have suffered a heart attack during the ceremony.
His daughter, Lim Wei Ling, 37, and another daughter, had accompanied their father to the temple and suspected something amiss when the lid was shaken.
"We panic and found him unconscious. He was not responding even after we tried to perform emergency aid while waiting for a medical team from the Kuala Sanglang Health Clinic.
"The medical officer later pronounced him dead at the scene," she said when met.
According to Wei Ling, his father had undergone surgery due to a heart complication last April but he did not show any sign of sickness prior to the incident.
Meanwhile, Kubang Pasu district police chief Superintendent Mohd Ismail Ibrahim said the incident was classified as sudden death.
"There were burnt wounds on his head, face, hands, body and legs.
"A post-mortem report revealed that the cause of death were heart attack and major second-degree burn.
"It was learnt that the victim was sitting on a wooden plank in the cauldron filled with hot water and covered with a lid," he said.
He added that investigations showed that the victim had took part in similar ceremonies at other temples in the past.