Cobra that spooked couple is no pet
Wild visitor: (From right) Mohammad Izani, security guard Mohd Khairy Ismail, 31, and Muhamad Sufian, 28, showing a photo of them capturing the cobra at the Taman Pauh Jaya Flat in Bukit Mertajam, Penang. — ASRI ABDUL GHANI/The Star
BUKIT MERTAJAM: The former snake charmer who helped catch the 4.2m-long king cobra that was spotted slithering along the outer wall of a five-storey block of low-cost flats in Taman Pauh Jaya here believes it is a wild snake.
Mohammad Izani Ramli, 25, who is now an insurance agent, said snakes kept captive in cages or aquariums usually have scars on their mouths and their skin are clean.
“But the cobra that we caught had no scars on its mouth and there was some dirt on its skin. It also had a foul smell,” he said at a restaurant near the flats yesterday.
Izani, from Kepala Batas, had caught the 6kg cobra on Monday together with fellow insurance agent Muhamad Sufian Zainol Abidin, 28, who called him after being alerted by a security guard.
They took the snake away in a gunny sack and subsequently handed it over to the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan).
Many residents believed that it could have escaped from captivity in one of the units on the fourth floor but Penang Perhilitan director Loo Kean Seong said the department’s officer found nothing suspicious after checking the unit.
“Based on records, no licences have been issued for owners to keep snakes in the area,” he said, adding that the snake would be released into the wild.
The couple living in the third-floor unit yesterday recalled the close encounter with the cobra which had slithered into their bedroom through an open window.
Fruit seller Abdullah Che Soh, 59, and his wife Ramlah Majid, 56, were both lying on their bed when the snake came in.
“It was about 9am and I was taking a rest while smoking when Ramlah suddenly started screaming and pointing towards the window.
“The king cobra was crawling down from the window. I immediately dragged Ramlah out of the room and we stood at the door to shoo it away.
“It then turned back and went out through the same window. We were so shaken that we slept in the living room that night,” Abdullah said.
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