ALOR SETAR, June 14 — Police have identified one of two men whose bodies were recovered from the Kedah River today as a 16-year-old boy who had been reported missing two days earlier, adding that there was no indication the deaths were linked.

Harian Metro reported Kota Setar police chief Assistant Commissioner Syed Basri Syed Ali as saying that the teenager, identified as Saw Chee Wan, was believed to have left his home on June 12. Family members identified him through a pendant necklace he had been wearing.

According to police, Saw had a learning disability and was reported missing from his home in Kampung Seberang Perak, about two kilometres from where his body was found.

The teenager's body was discovered by Alor Setar City Council cleaning workers at about 9am near Taman Pesisiran Jeragan in Ampang Jajar.

Firefighters later recovered the body from the river.

The national daily also said that police later identified the second victim as Muhammad Amin, also known as N. Thiagarah, 46, from Tanjung Bendahara who had also been reported missing on June 12.

Syed Basri said investigations found that Muhammad Amin had previously received treatment for mental health issues.

Although the two bodies were found about 100 metres apart, police said investigations showed the cases were unrelated.

A forensic examination found no evidence of foul play, and both cases have been classified as sudden deaths.

The bodies were taken to Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital for post-mortem examinations.

Police also confirmed that a motorcycle found near the scene belonged to Muhammad Amin, based on identification by his younger brother.

Syed Basri urged the public not to speculate about the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the two bodies.

Earlier reports said the bodies of two men, aged 16 and 46, were found in the Kedah River near Titi Taman Pesisiran Jeragan today.

ALOR SETAR, June 7 — Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor is not giving up the state’s decision to stop issuing and renewing number-betting outlet licences, despite losing the case at the Court of Appeal.

He said the state will pursue the legal battle all the way to the Federal Court, The Star reported today.

“We are not giving up and will bring this case to the highest court. We have already started the process to go to the Federal Court,” he was quoted as saying.

Sanusi said the state had anticipated the outcome, although the full written judgment was only recently released.

On June 2, the Court of Appeal released its written grounds for a December ruling that Kedah could not impose a blanket ban on lottery and betting businesses solely on policy objections to gambling.

The majority decision held that state powers were confined to matters under the Federal Constitution’s Ninth Schedule and the Local Government Act.

The court said licensing decisions must be tied to premises conditions such as safety, sanitation and public nuisance, not general opposition to gambling activities.

It also noted that some operators had been operating at the same premises for decades.

The Federal Court is scheduled to hear Kedah’s application for leave to appeal on August 12.

Kedah’s dispute began after Sanusi announced in November 2021 that the state would stop issuing and renewing gambling outlet licences.

The decision was challenged by gambling and lottery operators, leading to a 2024 High Court ruling that the ban was unlawful, which was later upheld by the Court of Appeal in December 2025.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — The bodies of two males, aged 16 and 46, were found in the Kedah River near the Jeragan Waterfront Bridge in Alor Setar today.

Kedah Fire and Rescue Department Zone 1 chief Ahmad Aminuddin Abd Rahim said firefighters were first alerted at 8.45am after receiving a report of a body caught among debris in the river.

Personnel from the Alor Setar and Jalan Raja fire stations were dispatched to the area and, upon arrival, found the body of a man entangled in floating vegetation near the bridge, he said in a statement.

At 10.16am, the department received a second report from members of the public about another body found about 100 metres from the first location.

Following checks carried out with police officers, firefighters retrieved the second body from the river. Both bodies were later handed over to the police for further investigation.

The operation concluded at 11.45am.