They said the late Nurul Aina Karim, 37, was found dead at her home in Bandar D’Marina in Kuantan, Pahang, on March 20.

According to Zainal Abidin Ali, Aina’s brother-in-law, the family learnt of her death through her husband, who said she had died after a fall.

“But the family noticed bruises on her body. The medical report said that she died of a head injury caused by blunt force trauma. And the right side of her skull was fractured.

“There were bruises on the back of her head, as well as on her right hand and leg,” Zainal said during a press conference organised by Eliminating Deaths and Abuse in Custody Together (Edict), an NGO.

Zainal said the family was puzzled when police classified the case as sudden death.

Zainal’s wife and Aina’s sister, Khairun Munirah Karim, 29, claimed that police had yet to record statements from family members.

The family lodged reports on March 22, 23, 25 and 26, and April 15, urging the police to take further action.

According to Khairun, Aina filed a police report in 2018 alleging that she was the victim of an attack, and had identified her attacker.

Aina was an accountant while her husband is a former army officer. They have two children, aged five and nine, who were reportedly not at home when she died.

Edict chairman M Visvanathan called for the federal police to take over the investigation from the police in Kuantan.

When contacted, Kuantan police chief Wan Zahari Wan Busu said investigations were ongoing and that more evidence was needed to reclassify the case as a murder.

“An SDR (sudden death report) does not mean the case is closed. If there is further evidence, we will reclassify the case,” he said.

He also denied that the police did not record statements from the victim’s family, saying the statements of all “relevant parties” had been recorded.