A Malaysian fireman extensively reported as having wed his pet snake says that he is saddened by the “fake” story.
Abu Zarin Hussin trains other fire fighters in the state of Pahang on how you can get and handle snakes.
Before this month, UK tabloids reported that he had married a snake believing it to be his “reincarnated girlfriend”.
“I am always working with snakes and training other firemen in handling and saving snakes,” he said.
He is married, and said his wife was “ok” with the stories because she understands they’re “fake news”.
Mirror Online’s report said he had “spotted a snake with a ‘eye-catching similarity'” to a girlfriend who had perished.
“He now spends his life with the 10ft long cobra considering it’s his dead lover – following the Buddhist idea that individuals can be reincarnated as animals,” the paper reported.
“The images are of me. They used my photos and began making up stories, saying that I married a snake,” he told Malaysia’s Star Newspaper
“The narrative was assessed according to the journalist and if the info is incorrect we can only report what the journalist believed the story to be after doing his own tests,” he said.
Mr Hussin says he keeps them and now has four snakes in his possession to understand their behavior.