Missing man found dead in hospital after more than a month

A mother in Penang, Malaysia, has found a measure of peace after learning that her son, Shahir Zainul, 46, died at Penang Hospital on June 11. Salmah Shamsudin, 72, received the news over a month after her son was first reported missing.

Salmah learned of her son's passing after evening prayers from a friend of Shahir's. She and other family members immediately went to the hospital's forensic unit. Despite the sadness of his death, Salmah expressed relief at finally knowing Shahir's fate and whereabouts after weeks of uncertainty and hope for his return.

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My son's friend informed me about this (my son died at HPP), I only found out after Isyak prayers.

"I feel relieved because we finally know. No matter what, we know his place. It's heavy, but I console myself. At least we know what happened and where he is. All this time we were just wondering and hoping he would come home," she said.

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I feel relieved because we finally know. No matter what, we know his place. It's heavy, but I console myself. At least we know what happened and where he is. All this time we were just wondering and hoping he would come home.

Shahir's two children, aged 13 and 15, will continue to live with Salmah, who has been their caregiver since they were young. The search and rescue operation for Shahir, which began in early June near a durian orchard, was called off after no new leads were found.

Penang Hospital had issued a public notice on June 21 regarding an unclaimed adult male body at its forensic medical department in an effort to locate the next of kin. The identification by family members on Saturday confirmed the body was Shahir's, who had been missing for over a month.

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They will both be cared for by me. I have been looking after them since they were little.