GEORGE TOWN: After losing her eldest son, Nurain Hasnorizal is now praying hard that her youngest son will pull through after they ate keropok (crackers) laced with rat poison.
Two-year-old Muhammad Luth Syauqi Abdul Rahman is still in the intensive care unit of the Penang Hospital, but his three-year-old brother Muhammad Akil Syauqi passed away at 8.30am yesterday.
Nurain, 25, is keeping a vigil at the hospital, hoping that her youngest son will recover. She has accepted Muhammad Akil Syauqi’s death as fate although it was painful to lose him.
“My eldest son’s condition became worse last night (Tuesday). There was no reaction from him and the doctors had asked us to prepare for the worst.
“I was with him the whole time at the hospital, and got the opportunity to recite prayers when he passed away,” she said.
Nurain, a factory worker, said both siblings were close and she cannot imagine how her youngest son will react when he finds out about his brother’s death.
Describing Muhammad Akil Syauqi as “clingy”, Nurain said: “Whenever I want to go to work, he would cry and insist on following me.
“But the last time before the tragic incident, he did not cry and only waved and said goodbye while holding his younger brother.”
The distraught mother also said she received a call from her neighbour who apologised profusely.
The neighbour said the poisoned keropok was meant for a monkey trap in their orchard in Kampung Padang Ubi, Kulim.
On Monday, the two brothers became critically ill after eating the poisoned keropok.
Nurain took them to the Malau Health Clinic when they started vomiting and foaming at the mouth. They were subsequently rushed to the Kulim Hospital.