A Malaysian man was strangled to death by a 12-foot python as he attempted to take it home.
Zaim Khalis Kosnan, 35, from Kampung Jenjarom had spotted the snake on his way home at around 3 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 28 in Kuala Langat in Malaysia’s Selangor state, The Straits Times reported. Believing that he’d be able to sell the reptile, he went home to retrieve tools for the capture.
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“The victim had told his elder sister about his intention when he arrived home for the tools,” Kuala Langat Officer in Charge of Police District Supt Azizan Tukiman said. “Then he left the house with a pair of gloves and a sickle on his motorcycle to capture the snake.”
Later that morning, passersby spotted Kosnan’s body with the snake wrapped around.
“Several passersby who found him struggling on the ground tried to rescue him but he died soon after. However, they managed to kill the animal to free the victim’s body later,” Supt stated.
Initial investigations into Kosnan’s death found that he had likely fallen off of his motorcycle on the side of the road after the 12-foot python began constricting him.
“I believe he was holding the reptile’s head while transporting it on his motorcycle when it started to coil around his body and constrict him,” the victim’s brother-in-law, Mohd Noor Radiman, told The Star. “We are saddened by this sudden and tragic news.”
Kosnan’s body was transported to the Banting Hospital, where it will undergo a post-mortem.
