Malaysian Postman Hordes Mail

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysian postman kept 21,000 letters  undelivered for up to four years in a room of his house, newspapers said  Thursday. Police were now searching for the missing man.  

The former employee of Pos Malaysia Bhd, fired in March, left mail such as  telephone bills, bank statements and magazines in a room of a house in which  he once lived in a Kuala Lumpur suburb. Some of the letters were four years  old.  

"Most of our postmen are dedicated and loyal but there are a few who spoil  our reputation," Ikmal Hijaz Hashim, head of state-controlled Pos Malaysia,  was quoted by the Star newspaper as saying.  

Earlier this year, Michael Glenn Bowes, a former postman for Britain's  Royal Mail, was found to have kept 3,148 letters and parcels in his home  undelivered.

 © Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.