Ex-army personnel who was mistaken for a wild animal was accidentally shot by his hunting partner in the incident which took place at Kampung Gong Genor, Pasir Puteh, yesterday.

The victim, Mohd Sazuki Mohd Safafi'i, 48, died after the bullet of the weapon - a shotgun - hit him straight in the chest in the 7.30pm occurrence.

Kelantan deputy police chief Abdullah Muhammad Piah said the victim was in the area to hunt for wild boars after being called by the villagers.

He said the victim and his 69-year-old friend had come across a boar while travelling to the area.

"The victim was said to be coming out of the vehicle and scouting the area to detect boars passing in front of the vehicle.

"However, at the time, his friend who allegedly saw the movement in the bushes thought it was a wild animal and kept firing at the victim," he said when contacted today.

Abdullah said preliminary investigations found the victim, whose home address is Kampung Gong Champa, went out with his friends at around 2pm to hunt for the wild boar.

He said the victim's friend has now been remanded for three days for preliminary investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

"Police received a report of the incident at about 7.50pm when a friend called the police to inform them of the occurrence.

"An initial investigation found that the victim is believed to have been hit by a bullet right in the chest, leading to death," he said.

Abdullah said police advised the public to be more cautious in using firearms, especially in hunting activities, to prevent unwanted incidents from happening.

- Bernama