KUANTAN: POLICE brushed aside a claim by a British newspaper that the department was investigating allegations into British accountant Gareth Huntley being involved in a fight shortly before his disappearance on Pulau Tioman on May 27.
Pahang Criminal Investigation Department chief Datuk Mohd Zakaria Ahmad said the article published by The Telegraph's website suggesting that the 34-year-old could have been murdered was also inaccurate.
Zakaria said he had travelled to Pulau Tioman on Saturday and met several witnesses at the Penyu Juara Chalet in Kampung Juara where Huntley was a volunteer in a turtle conservation project.
"I interviewed several individuals to get a clear picture on the case. The information I received from them was different than what had been carried by the news website."
Huntley's family members are expected to claim the body today.
The British newspaper yesterday reported that local tour guides on Pulau Tioman had claimed that Huntley's throat had been slit.
It also quoted Kampung Juara chief Ab Razib Ali Awang as saying that most locals believed something sinister had happened to the backpacker.
Huntley, from Cricklewood in north London, had gone to the Lubuk Teja waterfall on May 27 around noon, but failed to return to his chalet.
Two days later, his disappearance was reported at the Tioman police station.
A massive search operation involving 157 policemen, civil defence and fire and rescue personnel was mounted to locate him.
His decomposed body was discovered on the banks of Sungai Mentawak at the Juara Lagoon chalet on June 4.
On Saturday, Pahang police chief Datuk Sharifuddin Ab Ghani confirmed the body was Huntley's after blood samples taken from him matched his mother, Janet Southwell's bone specimen.
