A woman and her 9-year-old son passed away at their home in Sabah, and the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) linked their deaths to the food they had at a wedding earlier.

Deputy Police Chief of Tawau, Superintendent Champin Piuh, said that the police received a report about the duo’s death from the woman’s relative on Wednesday (August 13) at 10:30 AM. The relative also told police that the mother and son attended a wedding in the village during the weekend, and symptoms started to show up.

Possible food poisoning, husband severely affected

According to the deceased woman’s husband, who did not attend the wedding, he said that he ate the food from the event after his wife brought home the meals. On Sunday morning, he started to vomit and suffer from diarrhoea, which lasted until Monday evening (August 11).

Before his symptoms showed up, he noticed his wife going back and forth to the toilet to throw up, and his son was barely able to move. 

He also said his other two children, who also consumed the food from the wedding, showed similar symptoms, but recovered after they visited the clinic.

While the food from the wedding may be the major cause of death, Champin said that the district’s Ministry of Health (MOH) is still investigating the claims of food poisoning, while the forensic team is also investigating the incident scene.

As of the time of writing, PDRM has classified the matter as sudden death, reported Oriental Daily and Malaysia Gazette. The police are currently awaiting lab reports from MOH.