BADUNG

A 40-year-old taxi driver was found dead in his vehicle in Badung on Sunday.

Agung Gede Suartika, originally from Negara in Jembrana was first noticed by other drivers at an informal taxi lot in front of the Pura Peti Tenget temple in Badung.

At around 5pm a driver named Nengah Wastana noticed him slumped at the wheel of his parked taxi, but assumed he was sleeping, but later became concerned when he saw no sign of movement.

“The witness said he felt suspicious as the car had been parked for quite a long time, and the driver appeared to be asleep but had not woken up,” said Badung Police chief I Wayan Arta Ariawan.

Ariawan said that Wastana had not wanted to disturbed the driver, but when he still had not moved at 2am he reported the matter to local police.

Officers who came to the scene found that Suartika was dead.

“We set up a crime scene and immediately called an ambulance to evacuate the victim’s body to Sanglah Hospital,” Ariawan said.

Ariawan said that doctors at the hospital said that there was no sign of violence on Suartika’s body, and that he had likely died of fatigue or illness.