Madang police start investigation into suspicious death of foreign woman

Investigation into the suspicious death of an expatriate woman last month in Madang Town will recommence to identify the real cause of death.

Provincial Police Commander for Madang, Superintendent Robert Baim said police will interview all expatriate and local managers of the supermarket where the deceased was employed.

“If it means we will have to dig up the grave and examine the corpse, so be it. The deceased was an expatriate woman and why the corpse was not sent to her relatives and country of origin is also a question that needs an answer from the J & Z company,” PPC Baim said.

The deceased woman was laid to rest at Kananam Village by some of her local workmates.

Superintendent Baim said it was impossible to conduct a post mortem on her body to determine the real cause of death as it was against her religious belief and that of her family, who are Muslims. 

The death of the female employee of J & Z company was initially reported to police on Saturday, February 21; soon after her body was found lying lifeless in her cubicle, located above the J & Z Shopping centre in town.

An initial report compiled by members of the Transnational Crime Unit and National Crime Intelligence Unit identified the deceased woman to be Sit Li Shei, aged 25 from Myanmar.

Police and emergency doctors upon entering her cubicle, found various medical drugs in sealed packets and bottles, which led them to track her medical status and history.

The team found out that the deceased was under medication after having undergone medical checks at a private clinic in town, days before her passing.

Her medical records revealed that her last visit to the medical centre was on February 19, and that she had been sick for nearly three months without being taken to the hospital for medical assistance.

According to her medical records retrieved by the investigation team from the private clinic, Sit Li Shei had died from a prolonged medical condition that remained untreated for a long time.

Investigators said there were no other suspicious traces of any other crimes inside her cubicle.

Meanwhile, PPC Baim has also indicated that re- arrests are highly likely or possible into the  much- publicised Yahoo Supermarket assault case on a mother and her daughter from last year.