The process of identifying a body, believed to be that of missing detainee G Francis Udayapan, hit a snag when his mother. G. Sara Lilly, could not recognise it today. The body was found yesterday evening.

Sara Lilly, 45, she would make a second attempt tomorrow morning, when she and her family will view the body again at the University of Malaya Medical Centre mortuary.

"The body was covered with mud and sand. After looking at the body for a while I just couldn't handle it anymore and went out of the room crying," she said when met today.

She said she would be looking for tattoos on the left and right hand shoulder of the body. In its present condition, the right half of the face and the right arm are missing.

"The body was stiff and the skin was smooth. There were bruises over the bottom left-half of the body," she added.

Sara Lilly, who had been asked to report to the Brickfields police station early this morning, was accompanied by her husband P Anthony.

Found in river

Brickfields district police chief Zulhasnan Najib Baharuddin, when contacted today, said the body had been found in the Klang river at a location close to the Petaling police station.

"We can't say for sure that it is his body as we still have to conduct clinical and DNA tests. The body was sighted at around 6pm yesterday clad in a KL Police lock-up t-shirt," he told malaysiakini.

Bernama, quoting Brickfields police, reported today that the body was found in the river near Taman Angkasa, Puchong.

Meanwhile, counsel M Manoharan said Sara Lilly would not be giving a blood sample to the police until she has consulted her family and lawyers.

Udayapan, 24, a VCD vendor was detained by the Brickfields police last month on suspicion of theft but went missing soon while in custody.

Zulhasnan said he had escaped while being led to an interrogation room, and that he had jumped into the Klang River, which flows behind the station.

Sara Lilly has consistently alleged that her son was a victim of police abuse. However, a Bukit Aman special team set up to investigate the allegation later ruled out foul play.