Pregnant KK nurse dies after drinking rat poison

Ambulance at the house

KOTA KINABALU - In a bid to induce a miscarriage, a nurse is believed to have consumed rat poison which ended up killing her.

Her decomposing body was only discovered two days later.

Jalenah Bagul, 40, was found lying on the floor of her rented room in a terrace unit at Dah Yeh Villa here by family members at around 12.30pm today.

Her relatives, who had been unable to contact her, went to her house after they were alerted by her housemates that a foul stench was emanating from her room.

Forensic police who were called to the scene found a plastic bag of rat poison by her side and a soft drink can containing the poison, said city police chief Assistant Commissioner M. Chandra.

However, police also found a length of rope hanging from the ceiling, indicating that Jalenah was also contemplating or planning suicide, said Chandra.

“We believe she may have tried to commit suicide, but we will leave it to the forensic and pathology units to (determine the cause of death),” he said when met at the scene.

It is believed Jalenah had been dead for more than 48 hours before her body was discovered.

Police are currently searching for Jalenah’s boyfriend, who was last seen leaving her room in a hurry at around 2.30pm on Sunday.

“We have identified the man and are urging him to come forward to shed some light as to what actually took place in the room prior to the incident,” said Chandra.