Deadly crash site: Three UiTM students were killed and another seriously hurt after an SUV rammed into their motorcyles in Dungun, Kuala Terengganu.
PETALING JAYA: It is always tragic when a parent has to bury their child. Jamaludin Hussin has had to do it twice over the past few years.
This time, the 53-year-old father was robbed of his only surviving son, who had been riding the same motorcycle on which his older brother was killed seven years ago, also in October.
Jamaludin lost his younger son Khairil Anwar to a road accident that killed two other undergraduates of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Dungun on Wednesday. The boys had just started their new semester last Sunday.
Still grappling with the loss of his first son seven years ago to a road accident, Jamaludin never expected to see himself plunge into deep despair again, but fate took a cruel turn again when he received the tragic news of Khairil’s death.
The 20-year-old victim, who was pursuing a degree in Accounting Science, died from serious head injuries at the scene of the accident at Jalan Pantai, Kampung Sura Hujung, a stone’s throw from UiTM Dungun.
“I no longer have any sons. I have lost them both to road accidents. Seven years ago on Oct 3, my older son Muhammad Khairul Izzudin was killed in Senawang, Negri Sembilan.
“Khairil was riding the same motorcycle that killed his brother. I never expected history to repeat itself. Losing a child is far different compared with the loss of a parent or sibling.
“My hands are trembling and I am feeling aimless now,” the grief-stricken father said.
Jamaludin, who hails from Ampang, Selangor, said the last time he and his wife Norma Mohammed Nor, 52, saw Khairil was when they drove him to Dungun to start his new semester at UiTM last Sunday.
In a ditch: The badly damaged car of the suspect who crashed into and killed the three UiTM students in Dungun.
He said the victim, who was the youngest of five siblings, was hardworking and often took up part-time jobs during semester breaks.
“Before he returned to UiTM, he gifted his mother a gold bar that he had bought with the wages he earned working part-time at a coffee shop.
“His death is a great loss to me and my family, but we have come to accept it as fate and God’s will,” he added.
The two others who perished in the accident were Ku Adib Aizab Ku Azmi, 20, who was also an Accounting Science undergraduate and Muhammad Akmal Md Tukirin, 25, who was pursuing a degree in Food Service Management.
A fourth victim, Muhammad Ammar Danish Mohd Ridhuan, 20, from Kuala Lumpur, suffered serious injuries and is being treated in hospital.
Ku Adib Aizab’s mother Hafizah Iszahanid, who is an assistant editor with Berita Harian, and his father Ku Azmi Saad, an employee of a sister company of The New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd, were on their way to a pilgrimage at Mecca when the tragedy occurred.
It is learnt that the couple had landed in Jeddah just two hours after Ku Adib Aizab, from Sungai Buloh, was killed and caught the next fight to Malaysia hours after being informed of their son’s death.
At 7.35pm on Wednesday, a 49-year-old housewife who was driving a sports utility vehicle (SUV) on Jalan Pantai near UiTM, Dungun allegedly crashed the vehicle into the rear of two motorcycles the victims were on.
Robbed of their future: Victims of the crash who perished on site (from left) Khairil, Ku Adib and Muhammad Akmal.
Three of the riders were killed at the scene after being thrown from their machines, with one landing in a drain.
The victims, who suffered serious head and bodily injuries, were returning to campus after having dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Terengganu deputy police chief Datuk Wan Rukman Wan Hassan said based on early investigations, the housewife, who is a mother of three, is believed to be suffering from a mental health condition.
He said she was taken to court yesterday where a four-day remand order was obtained against her.
The remains of the three students were claimed by their families yesterday, after the post-mortem was completed at Dungun Hospital’s Forensic Unit, at 9am.
Muhammad Akmal was laid to rest yesterday at the Kampung Parit Baru Muslim cemetery in Muar, Johor while Ku Adib was buried at the Raudhatul Aliyah Saujana Utama Muslim cemetery in Sungai Buloh.
