Singaporean cyclist missing in Perak for 3 days found dead

SINGAPORE — The Singaporean cyclist who was reported missing while taking part in a cycling event in Perak has been found dead three days later on Wednesday (May 9) afternoon, according to Malaysian media reports.

Abdul Samat Ismail, 56, was found at around 1.50pm by one of his cyclist friends, who was part of a search party that had been looking for him since his disappearance on May 6.

Perak Police Chief Ahmad Tarmizi Shaari told the media that Samat was found in a drain together with his bicycle some 13km from the finish line of the Perak Century Ride 2018 event that he had been participating in.

Preliminary investigations showed that Samat was believed to have wanted to urinate before he fell into the drain by the side of the road, said Mr Ahmad. However, he added that investigations are ongoing and that the body would be taken to the Batu Gajah Hospital for an autopsy.

Samat was reported to have gone missing on Sunday during the last leg of a 160km cycling event, said organisers of the Perak Century Ride 2018 in an appeal posted on its Facebook page.

When TODAY spoke to his daughter on Tuesday, Ms Nurul Nadiah said her father had left for Perak on Saturday morning for the cycling event, and that her last contact with him was in the evening of the same day, when he sent her a group photo of the race participants.

She added that her father had complained of leg cramps during the race, and told his buddy to carry on.

“That was when his buddy last saw him. It was at the last water checkpoint,” said the 29-year-old.

TODAY has reached out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comments.