Sunday October 17, 2010
Naked body of missing schoolgirl found
IPOH: A secondary school student, who had been missing since Friday evening, has been found murdered. Her naked body was dumped in a drain near an oil palm estate in Teluk Intan about 90km from here. The body of M. Divya Barathi, 16, was found lying face down in the drain at Ladang Rubana by a passer-by at about 7.30am yesterday. Hilir Perak OCPD Asst Comm Goh Kok Liang said the passer-by had earlier found Divya Barathi’s school bag and clothing before locating the body about 10m away.
It is believed that the girl was raped before she was killed. ACP Goh said police were still waiting for the post-mortem report from the Teluk Intan Hospital Forensics Unit to ascertain the cause of death. He added that police did not find any weapon at the crime scene. ACP Goh said the girl’s father K. Murali, 43, had told police that he last saw his daughter getting off the bus and walking into the estate where they live. He said the SM Horley Methodist student was returning home after attending tuition in town.
“Murali lodged a report at the Teluk Intan police station after his daughter failed to show up at their home later that night,” he added. The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder. ACP Goh also said that no arrests have been made but they have called one of Divya Barathi’s classmates to assist in the investigations. Murali’s employer Sime Darby Plantation expressed sadness over the incident.