JITRA: A rubber tapper on a hunting trip for wild boars accidentally shot himself in the head with his pump gun.

A. Teraji (pic), 59, was believed to have been riding a motorcycle with one hand on the handle bar and the other hand holding the weapon when the incident took place in a forest located next to a rubber plantation in Felda Laka Selatan in Changlun near here.

He was believed to have lost control of his motorcycle and fell on the uneven dirt road, which resulted in the pump gun going off.

The shell hit him on the left side of the head and he died on the spot in the incident which occurred at about 6pm on Friday.

His nephew A. Jhabistih, 26, who works as a contract worker, said both of them had gone hunting in the forest on two motorcycles.

He said they left his home in Arau at about 3pm but failed to spot any wild boar.

“At about 6pm, he asked me to wait for him at a corner while he went further down the road. I believed he sensed the presence of a boar.

“Suddenly, I heard a loud bang and I thought he had managed to shoot a wild boar. But, when he did not return, I went to look for him and I was terrified to see his body lying in a pool of blood with part of the scalp blown off,” he said when met at the scene on Friday night.

Jhabistih said the police only arrived about an hour after he called them as the place was at a remote spot without any landmark.

Kubang Pasu OCPD Supt Abdul Rahim Abdullah said investigations by the police forensic team found that Teraji died due to severe head injuries caused by the shot from the pump gun.

“Teraji had a valid licence for the gun. He purchased the bullets on June 3. No criminal element was involved and we have classified the case as sudden death,” he said.