40-year-old woman and her 2-year-old daughter found dead in Penang flat a week after they passed

MALAYSIA: A mother and her young daughter were discovered dead in their apartment in Georgetown, Penang on 30 June after neighbors reported a strong, foul odor emanating from the unit. Authorities believe the pair had been deceased for more than a week.

According to China Press, local police received a call at approximately 4pm on Sunday, June 30, alerting them to a foul smell emanating from the flat. Police officers forced entry into the locked unit.

Inside the master bedroom, officers found the severely decomposed bodies of a 40-year-old woman and a two-year-old girl, believed to be mother and daughter. Initial assessments indicate that both had been dead for several days before being discovered.

Investigators also recovered a quantity of medication suspected to be for the treatment of mental illness, although it remains unclear whether it played any role in the deaths.

The woman’s sister later told reporters that her sibling had been living alone with her child following a divorce and was unemployed. She said the last time she saw her sister was in May, when police had contacted her to help bring her sister home due to undisclosed concerns.

Neighbors reported that they last spotted the mother and daughter at the end of May. Many of the residents in the building were tenants who moved frequently, leading to limited familiarity among neighbors.

Some neighbors recalled the deceased mentioning that the apartment was about to be auctioned off and that she was preparing to vacate the premises.

As there was no further sign of activity in the unit and no disturbances were heard, neighbors assumed the occupants had already moved out. It was only when the smell spread to the surrounding areas that anyone raised the alarm.

Penang police have classified the matter as a sudden death case pending further investigation. Both bodies have been sent to the hospital for post-mortem examinations to determine the exact causes of death.

Investigations are ongoing.