BATU GAJAH: Chulio has proven to be the perfect crime-busting partner.

       The five-year-old German Shepherd with the Perak police contingent K9 unit has been recognised for finding the body of an elderly man who went missing in Kampung Baru Nalla here last month.

       Chulio was presented with a medal of appreciation and also a bag of kibble by the Batu Gajah police for his effort during the district police monthly gathering yesterday.

       Batu Gajah deputy OCPD Supt Tan Boon Hooi placed the award around Chulio’s neck, witnessed by OCPD Asst Comm Mohamad Roy Suhaimi Sarif.

       ACP Mohamad Roy said Chulio was deployed on May 11, the third day of the search and rescue operation for the 85-year-old man.“The weather was, however, hot and was not conducive for Chulio to locate the victim.

       “On the fourth day, Chulio was sent out again at 10am and about half an hour later, he found the victim’s decomposed body near a stream that was surrounded by thick undergrowth.

       “No one would have thought to go there and we wouldn’t have found the body without Chulio.

       “Based on the clothing on the body, we believed that it belonged to the missing victim,” he said.

       ACP Mohamad Roy said it was the third time the elderly man had gone missing.

       “He was senile and was reported missing before. We are still waiting for the DNA report to affirm his identity,” he said, adding that the case had been classified as sudden death and foul play had been ruled out.

       State police K9 unit chief Sjn V. Gunalan said Chulio was bought from the United Kingdom and trained at the Malaysian Police Training Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

       He said Chulio had taken part in more than 50 operations, and locating the elderly man was his second success.

       The dog’s first success was in April when he found the body of a man who had been swept away by strong currents near a waterfall in Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands, said Sjn Gunalan.

       “The victim was buried under some 1.5m of soil,” he said, adding that the success of locating a victim was based on the weather, terrain and time.

       “When our dogs find a buried victim, they will sit at the spot and dig the ground.”

       Sjn Gunalan said Chulio was a specialist in tracking cadaver.

       “He trains with his handler Kpl Tony Matius Farang every day,” he said.

       Chulio, he added, was one of two dogs in the K9 unit.

       The other is also a five-year-old German Shepherd named Rocky.

       “Chulio is more reserved and follows instructions obediently, while Rocky is hyperactive,” said Sjn Gunalan.