Headline tragedies of the year
Published on: Sunday, December 29, 2019
By: Ottey Peter
A photo of the event that resulted in the army shooting tragedy.
The fall of a toddler from a five-storey building and the death of an army commando during a live ammunition exercise before horrified members of the public were among tragedies that made the headlines this year.Special Force Regime commando officer with the rank of Major and son of actor-comedian AR Badul succumbed to injuries moments after being shot with real bullets.
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Major Mohd Zahir, 36, died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He left behind a widow and five children aged five to nine. The event coincided with the launch of the Fifth Division of the Malaysian Infantry.
The tragedy that befell the toddler left the family members puzzled as to how the police version that was issued to the press was different from the report lodged. The mother denied she “membiar” her daughter or was irresponsible. She said there was a sizeable gap in the flooring at the end of the walkway that was not visible to any unsuspecting individual, be it adult or child.
Penampang Police Chief DSP Mohd Haris Ibrahim said their use of the word “membiarkan” had been misinterpreted. He said the word used was meant to convey that the mother was “not holding the child but allowed to walk ahead of her.”
On July 5, two Chinese tourists and their Malaysian dive master were believed killed by fish bombs while diving off Semporna in Sabah’s east coast.
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The Semporna divemaster had taken the two male Chinese tourists for their dive. Witnesses said there were several fishing boats operated by Palauh or sea gypsies near the site where the three divers were killed.
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Left: The public helping to carry the bodies of the tourists and a local dive master into the van.
Right: Last moments of the children walking towards the area where one of them fell.
Road accidents claimed numerous lives throughout the 2019, but few as heartbreaking as those which killed three people, including two teenagers, near Ambong Kelawat along Jalan Tuaran-Kota Belud on May 3 in an accident involving a Perodua Bezza and Mitsubishi Triton.
Bezza driver Azami Madlasim, 34, a factory worker and front seat passenger Mohd Nasrin Hamzah, 15, were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics due to serious injuries while Nurul Amrirah Syahirah Rumi, 13, who suffered left hand injuries, broken shoulder and internal bleeding died at the hospital. The 33-year-old Triton driver, who is a teacher, escaped unhurt.
Another tragedy, on June 12, involved a family when two young girls were killed after their mother fell asleep while driving and crashed the vehicle which plunged into a ravine at Km 45 along Jalan Kalabakan-Sepulut.
On February 25, a five-vehicle pile-up at Jalan Bukit Padang claimed the life a female pedestrian and the three who also sustained injuries in the pile-up involved the lorry driver and his attendant, both in their 30s, and a 33-year-old Avanza driver from Tamparuli.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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