KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — A foul smell that persisted for four days after residents returned from Hari Raya Aidiladha celebrations led to the discovery of an elderly woman’s body in a house in Ampang yesterday.

According to Sinar Harian, neighbours traced the strong odour to a two-storey terraced house, where the body of the 76-year-old woman was found at 6.26pm.

A neighbour, who wished to be known only as Along, 34, said the smell was first noticed on Monday, shortly after he returned to Kuala Lumpur from his hometown.

“My house and my father’s are next to the victim’s. I wasn’t the only one who noticed the smell — other neighbours mentioned it too.

“They also said the woman’s son hadn’t been seen returning home. At first, we thought he might come back later.

“But after three days, the smell got stronger,” he reportedly told the national daily today.

Along said he, his father, and several neighbours inspected the house and found the front gate unlocked.

“We tried to find the source of the smell, thinking it could be a dead rat.

“When we opened the house door — which was also unlocked — we found the elderly woman lying inside, covered with a cloth,” he said.

He added that the woman usually lived with her youngest son and would sometimes ask neighbours for food while waiting for him to return.

“I called the police right after we found her,” he said.

Ampang Jaya police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Azam Ismail confirmed that a report was received at 6.30pm regarding the discovery.

A post-mortem is scheduled to be carried out at Hospital Kuala Lumpur this evening to determine the cause of death.