JOHOR BARU: Muhamad Arif Salman, now 21, often visits the Muslim cemetery near here and he seldom goes out at night.
He misses his friends a lot. Arif is a survivor of the 2017 “basikal lajak” (modified bicycles) accident that claimed the lives of eight teenagers, aged between 13 and 16.
The accident, which happened when he was 15, left him with severe injuries.
The injuries have healed but the harrowing memories of the crash still haunt him.
The crash at 3.20am remains a very painful episode for Arif who continues to visit the graves of his dead friends.
“On that night six years ago, my brother went out with three of his friends on their basikal lajak but only one of them came back,” said his brother Mohd Alif Salman, 26.
“I can tell that he still misses them a lot as he visits their graves once in a few months by himself,” said Alif, a factory worker.
Asked about the Court of Appeal’s decision to free Sam Ke Ting, now 28, who had been driving the car that hit them, Alif said his family wanted to put the whole ordeal behind them.
“I think it is time we put the matter to rest. It has been six long years.
“My father is the only one who still keeps tabs on the case but he does not discuss it with us.
“Until today, we still skirt around the issue whenever my brother is around, so it is easier to avoid it completely.
“It was a traumatic experience for him as he lost three of his good friends.
“He often feels guilty about being a survivor,” said Alif.
Arif, the youngest of three children, is doing better these days and his health has improved.
“My brother has been working at a metal factory for close to a year now. My parents and I still make it a point to remind him to ride his motorcycle to and from work safely.
“He seldom goes out at night any more,” he added.
In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel chaired by Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail allowed Sam’s appeal and freed her on the grounds that the charge against her was defective.
