PETALING JAYA: The teenage boy from Bangladesh who was sent home in February a month after having been found in a shipping container in Port Klang has died.
Ratul Islam Fahim drowned while bathing alone in a pond near his house at Monohargonj in Cumilla district yesterday according to local police, Bdnews24.Com reported.
His father told the police that Ratul was mentally-challenged and did not know how to swim.
Faruk Mia, who is a day labourer, said Ratul was bathing alone because everyone else was out in the fields, harvesting padi.
“How can I live on after this?” he was quoted as saying about the eldest of his three sons.
According to Bdnews24.Com, Ratul was buried without a post-mortem examination after his family obtained permission from the local authorities.
The report added that local police have promised a thorough investigation into the incident.
The story of the 16-year-old drew international media attention after he was found in the container, having survived for six days without food or drink.
Ratul was found in a container at a wharf at Westports in Port Klang on Jan 17.
He told authorities at the time that he was playing in a container with friends in Chittagong but found himself locked inside.
Ratul was treated at Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah in Klang before being temporarily placed in the care of Yayasan Chow Kit.
The home ministry then arranged to get his documents from the Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia before sending him home on Feb 22.