NO eyewitnesses have been identified in the case of a Universiti Malaya (UM) student who died after falling from a residential college building last Friday, police confirmed.
District Police Chief of Petaling Jaya, Assistant Commissioner Shamsudin Mamat, said preliminary investigations suggest the 22-year-old male student fell from a height at the four-storey accommodation block.
“Further investigations are still ongoing. Police have also found no witnesses who saw the incident take place,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
“Statements are now being recorded from the deceased’s friends and family members,” Shamsudin added.
The case, which has drawn widespread attention online, was first reported at 3.15pm on Friday. The student, identified as Ahmad Arif Zawir Mohd Ali, was taken to the University of Malaya Medical Centre, where he was pronounced dead at 4.25pm by medical personnel.
A post-mortem revealed the cause of death was severe head trauma consistent with a fall from height. Injuries were also found on the chest, but there were no signs of strangulation or indications of criminal activity.
“There is no element of foul play at this time,” Shamsudin stated, reiterating that police are still gathering information to determine the full circumstances.
He also clarified that statements from close contacts of the deceased only commenced recently, as the family had initially requested time to manage funeral arrangements.
Ahmad Arif, a final-year student in the Department of Fiqh and Usul and Applied Sciences at the Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya, was laid to rest on Saturday at the Mutmainnah Cahaya Masai Islamic Cemetery.
In a brief statement, Universiti Malaya expressed its condolences to the family of the deceased and urged the public not to speculate about the circumstances surrounding the tragedy. - October 19, 2025
