Global Courant 2023-04-30 12:50:00
KUALA LUMPUR – A 14-year-old boy from Bangladesh who was repatriated about three months ago after arriving in a shipping container from Chittagong, Malaysia, has died after drowning in a pond near his home.
Ratul Islam Fahim, who hails from Monoharganj, an administrative division in Cumilla, Bangladesh, was reported to have drowned on April 29 while taking a bath alone, as reported by The Daily Star.
His father Faruq Miah said that Ratul had an intellectual disability.
“At around 2:30 PM, Ratul drowned while taking a bath alone,” he said.
Mr. Ashikur Rahman Hiron, chairman of the local trade union council, said Ratul drowned while taking a bath alone in the pond as he could not swim.
In 2022, Ratul had been missing since November 13 before being discovered on a ship – MV Integra – in Port Klang on January 17, 2023.
The ship had arrived from the port of Chittagong in Bangladesh for Malaysia on 12 January.
On January 16, sailors heard voices coming from an empty shipping container and reported the matter to the port authority.
On January 17, the ship was brought to the jetty, the container was opened and the teenager was rescued.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had said upon the discovery of the boy that the boy was found in a weak condition on January 17 when the ship docked at the port.
Datuk Seri Saifuddin said based on investigations that there were no human trafficking elements in this case.
Ratul was repatriated on February 21. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
