A SHIRT and human body parts were found in the stomach of a 4.5m crocodile captured today by Sarawak wildlife officials assisting in the search for a missing teenager.

The shirt was identified by the family of 14-year-old Ricky Ganya as belonging to the teen, who lived in the Rumah Dadat longhouse in Tanjong Manis in central Sarawak.

He was reported to have been attacked by a crocodile last Monday while hunting for edible slugs and snails on the banks of the Batang Ulu Belawai with an aunt and two friends.

According to the aunt, the crocodile that lunged at the teen and then dragged him into the river was about 4.7m long and 1.7m broad.

The crocodile had been snared this morning in a trap set up by the Forestry Department’s Swift Wildlife Action Team.

The trap was about 3km from the site of the attack.

The Fire and Rescue Services Department, which led the search for the boy, reported wildlife officials cut up the reptile on the riverbank while the victim’s family and neighbours and the police watched.

Crocodiles are protected animals in the state and they are not to be killed unless the Forestry Department permits it.

The teen was the third victim of a crocodile attack this month.

The bodies of the two others have not been found.

The search – now is in its sixth day – continues. – July 31, 2020.