Kota Kinabalu: Six people lost their lives in the three days between the eve and second day of Chinese New Year but none more tragically than a 26-year-old who was setting off fireworks outside his home. Newly-married By Shaow Yong made the fatal mistake of trying to find out why the fireworks he had lit did not shoot high into the sky as it should - it blew most of his head!
Two other young people were killed in road crashes in the city while in Sandakan, a teenager drowned and two elderly men were killed on the road and in a fire.
But it was By's shocking end that caught the public's imagination with news of his death going viral on the Internet. Facebook was abuzz with most people extending their condolences to his family and expressing anguish over the way he died.
Others pointed to the folly of playing with fireworks despite the continued ban on firecrackers and fireworks. Some noted that Sabah DAP had even lambasted the Government for not lifting the ban on these items.
It was learnt that By had placed two three-inch fireworks shells - capable of blasting 197 feet (equivalent to 16-storeys) into the air in 3.5 seconds - into a modified metal pipe launcher in the middle of the road facing his Taman Seputeh home just past midnight.
The first shell shot into the night sky and the brilliant, colourful explosion that followed thrilled his expectant wife and family members watching the display.
But when the second failed to ignite, he went to check the pipe.
That's when tragedy struck. The impact blew By's head off right before his wife, parents and siblings.
City police retrieved his remains for a post-mortem at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital at about 3.30am. The remains were cremated Wednesday afternoon.
Yong, from Perak, had been helping his father sell char kuey in Foh Sang and Inanam over the last 10 years, the only son among four children.
City Police Chief ACP Ahmad Sofi Zakaria has since reminded the public not to play with fireworks and firecrackers, pointing out that legal action can be taken against those found purchasing and playing with fireworks and firecrackers not approved by the Government.
Meanwhile, two other young people - a 22-year-old hairstylist and a 24-year-old former property agent - were killed in road crashes here.
On New Year's Eve, Muslim convert, Khatizah Chan Wan Ly died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital after a mishap at Jalan Kolam, Luyang.
The hairstylist was a front passenger of a Proton Iswara Aeroback driven by her 19-year-old friend and they were heading from KK Times Square to her home in Putatan at the time.
The driver, who sustained light injuries, lost control of the wheel and hit a tree while Khatizah who suffered internal injuries died at 5.50am in QEH.
On the first day of Chinese New Year, 24-year-old Tang Ying Yew died on his birthday when he lost control of his Isuzu D-Max opposite the KK High School near Kepayan Ridge.
Tang who was negotiating a bend rammed into a signpost before his vehicle overturned in the 2.50am mishap. He succumbed to serious head injuries.
Also on the first day an elderly pedestrian in Sandakan was killed in a road accident.
Siti Aminah Chang Abdullah, 56, was crossing the road at Mile 2Ã Jalan Utara when she was knocked down by a motorcycle at 8.30pm.
She died on the spot and the motorcyclist has been detained.
In another incident a 19-year-old youth drowned after the boat he was riding capsized in a river behind a factory at Jalan Gereja off Mile 9 Jalan Labuk in Sandakan, Tuesday.
Fire and Rescue Department chief, Alias Abu said its scuba diver team recovered the body an hour after it was alerted at 3pm.
In a separate incident, a 75-year-old man was burnt to death when his house was gutted at Kg. Cinabutan, Jalan Sapi Nongor, on the eve of Chinese New Year.
Alias said Domine Tuati was alone when fire broke out at about 11.33pm and that two others - Domine's 20-year-old daughter and his grandchild had gone to a clinic at the time.
The wooden house was already razed to the ground when firefighters arrived at 2.45am as the house was located in a remote area far away from Sandakan, he said.
