Kuala Lumpur: Police confirmed the man who was run over by the Express Rail Link (ERL) near an interchange station in Malaysia, was an Indian national, media reported on Tuesday.
After verifying with two witnesses, police confirmed the victim as 39-year-old Jagdish Singh, Astro Awani news channel reported.
The victim’s identity was also confirmed after police recorded a witness statement of the owner of a retail shop who admitted to holding Singh’s passport.
“The victim has pledged his passport because he could not pay his debt to the shop owner. The last time the witness met with the victim was at 1 p.m. on Saturday because the victim wanted to take his passport back but the witness has forgotten where he placed it and told the victim to come back on Monday,” a police official said.
He added that the victim often came to the grocery store drunk.
Another witness was called by police as his number was on a piece of paper found with the victim.
“The witness recognised the victim and shared his hardship and missing his wife and children back in India. The victim also asked the witness to pay the 150 Malaysian ringgits (around $40) owed to the grocery shop owner as he wanted his passport back,” the official added.
The investigation also found that the man was walking on the ERL track heading towards Kuala Lumpur Central station — with no intention of wanting to commit suicide.
The ERL driver — in an interview with the police — admitted to “hitting something” on Saturday.
“An examination at the scene which took place at around 11.50 a.m. on Sunday found the headless body with severe injuries on the rail. The head was found in a ditch and a hand on the rail,” the official added.