Iskandar Puteri district police chief ACP Noor Hashim Mohamad said the incident at 2pm was believed to have occurred when the victim, Liew Li San, 33, a factory worker in Singapore, was sleeping in her room.

“The victim was sleeping alone in her room while her two twin sisters were cooking in the kitchen with a two-year-old girl.

“The fire is believed to have started in the kitchen. The two sisters with the girl ran out to get the fire extinguisher.

“However, the fire spread very quickly,” he said in a statement here today.

Hashim said Liew was believed to have woken up and tried to escape by climbing over the balcony.

She clung to the PVC pipeline in her attempt to cross the wall to the apartment unit next door.

However, she is believed to have slipped and fallen from the 19th floor to the first floor.

Hashim said the house was owned by Liew and she had just moved to the 20-storey apartment four months ago.

“About 60% of the victim’s house was damaged in the fire. The actual cause of the fire is being investigated,” he said, adding that the case had been classified as sudden death.

Liew’s body was sent to Temenggong Seri Maharaja Tun Ibrahim Hospital in Kulai.