Saparman Sodimejo, also known as Mbah Gotho, had an Indonesian ID card that claimed his date of birth was December 31, 1870.
He passed away in his village in the Sragen district of Central Java, Indonesia and a funeral took place on Monday.
Ghoto was taken to hospital in early April due to deteriorating health but six days later checked himself out and returned home. His grandson Suyanto told the BBC:
‘Since he came back from the hospital, he only ate spoonfuls of porridge and drank very little.
‘It only lasted a couple of days. From that moment on to his death, he refused to eat and drink.’
If Saparman Sodimejo’s documents are correct, his age of 146 made him significantly older than the verified oldest person in the world ever, a title that belongs to French woman Jeanne Calment, who lived to be 122.
Suryanto said last year that his grandfather had been preparing for his death ever since he was 122, but it never seemed to come. He said:
‘The gravestone there was made in 1992. That was 24 years ago.’
In addition, Suryanto said Mbah Ghoto’s family had already prepared a gravesite for him – near his children’s graves.
Staff at the Indonesian records office have confirmed Mbah Gotho’s birthdate, which is specified on his Indonesian ID card as 31st December 1870.
Others without verifiable records who are purportedly older than Mbah Ghoto include 171-year-old James Olofintuyi from Nigeria and 163-year-old Dhaqabo Ebba from Ethiopia.
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