Johor man found himself ‘dead’ while trying to lodge a police report

A 71-year-old in Skudai, Johor was shocked to found out that he was “dead” in official records when he recently tried to lodge a police report.

According to FMT, Low Choo Choon, a funeral van driver, was trying to lodge a police report after losing a deed to a graveyard plot that was in his name.

Low said he and his wife bought the two-person burial plot roughly 20 years ago but he decided to give the deed to a family member as the cost of burial exceeds his financial capabilities.

However, in January this year, he realised that he had misplaced the deed, which compelled him to lodge a police report. However, he could not file a report as he was deemed “dead.”

Following this discovery, the police advised Low to lodge a complaint to the National Registration Department (JPN), which he did immediately. The department said it would handle the change in his status within two weeks.

Unfortunately, eight months have passed and the national registry has yet to respond to his complaint and reverse his status.

“I have been to JPN many times and was always told to come back in two weeks, but when I go, they give all kinds of excuses. I also wrote an official letter about this in June, but the problem still hasn’t been solved,” Low was quoted as saying by Harian Metro.

“I’m asking for JPN to kindly speed up the activation of my identification card (IC) again. I’m tired of this, I’m too old to keep going up and down to JPN.”

“I have been working at a funeral home for so many years, but I never thought that I would be listed as ‘dead’,” he said.

Meanwhile, Low also said he is worried that his assets and bank accounts might be frozen in the future if his status was not reversed.

Apart from that, Low said he has been facing difficulties in renewing his official documents and accessing privileges as a local citizen for the past few months.

He said he could not get his road tax renewed but he finally managed to convince the Road Transport Department to renew it for at least half a year after making multiple requests and visits.

He was also unable to cast a ballot in March when Johor held its state elections.

“My driving licence is also due to expire next month and this will lead to more difficulties if the issue is not resolved soon,” Low said.

Meanwhile, Low has approached Senai assemblyman Wong Bor Yang for help regarding the situation. It is reported that the Johor national registration has received Low’s complaint and is expediting the procedure.