SEREMBAN, 3 Nov 2008: Gerakan vice-president Datuk Dr S Vijayaratnam, 58, was found dead in front of his clinic at the Vijaya Mahal building in Jalan Tunku Hassan here at 12.15pm today.
He is believed to have fallen from the third floor of the building which he owned.
Negeri Sembilan police chief Datuk Osman Salleh said Vijayaratnam had come to his clinic as usual and collected the keys to go to the upper floors.
“A clinic assistant said his employer told him somebody wanted to rent one of the floors and he walked up after taking the keys,” he told reporters at the scene.
Soon afterwards, there was commotion when passers-by found Vijayaratnam’s badly injured body in front of the clinic, he said.
“At this point, preliminary investigation rules out any involvement of a third party or element of suicide. We have classified the case as sudden death,” he said.
Osman acknowledged that there were people who saw what happened and the police would question these witnesses.
Asked about rumours that Vijayaratnam had jumped from the building, Osman said police did not find any note on the body or at the scene.
The body has been taken to the Tuanku Jaafar Hospital.
Meanwhile, Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Ksu Koon told Bernama he was shocked to hear the news of Vijayaratnam’s death.
He said Vijayaratnam was elected vice-president at the party elections in October.
Negeri Sembilan Gerakan chairman Chan Kee Choong expressed sorrow at the death of Vijayaratnam.
“His death is a great loss to the party and society because he was a friendly and helpful leader,” he said when contacted.
Chan said he last met Vijayaratnam at the Negeri Sembilan Gerakan liaison committee meeting here on 28 Oct.
He said Vijayaratnam was his usual self and cheerful at the meeting. — Bernama
