Johor Education Dept followed SOP before missing teacher's body found

New Straits Times

21 hours ago

JOHOR BARU: The Johor Education Department activated standard operating procedures when a secondary school teacher failed to report for duty last September, months before her decomposed body was discovered at her home in Taman Selesa Jaya on June 12.
Johor Education and Information Committee chairman Aznan Tamin said the remains of the 39-year-old teacher, Lo Kwan Fong, were unclaimed at Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA).
Efforts to trace her next of kin were unsuccessful as of yesterday.
Her decomposed body was discovered in her house in Taman Selesa Jaya on June 12, after neighbours complained of a foul smell emitting from her unit.
Aznan said Lo, a teacher in a school in Taman Tunku Aminah, had last contacted the school's management on Sept 26 last year, to inform them that she would be absent that day.
"When she failed to report for duty the next day, attempts were made to contact her. However, all efforts, including phone calls, text messages via SMS, WhatsApp, Messenger and Telegram, were futile," Aznan said in a statement today.
He said the department had taken all appropriate steps to locate the teacher, including issuing show-cause letters in November and December, and also had sought assistance from various government agencies.
"The department followed all protocols and standard procedures when the teacher did not return to work.
"Letters were issued, and checks were made with the Immigration Department, Road Transport Department, National Registration Department and Prisons Department," he said.
When the department's officers went to her house on Dec 29, she was not in her unit. Her neighbours told the officers that her car, which was parked in her housing estate, appeared clean despite not being moved since September.
They found her unopened mail stuffed at the windows and front door, but Lo had not been seen since October.
Her neighbours also said they had not seen her returning or leaving her house, Aznan said. He said police investigations revealed that Lo, who was unmarried, is believed to have died alone. There were no signs of foul play, and the case has been classified as a sudden death.
"The remains were sent to HSA, where they remain to this day. No next of kin has come forward to claim the body.
"Lo was an only child. Both her parents died in 2010, and she reportedly suffered from depression, although there are no hospital records confirming a diagnosis," he added.