Relatives to take care of 10-year-old who lost family in Tatau tragedy
BINTULU: When 10-year-old Desmond Peter said goodbye to his parents and sister in Tatau on Monday, it turned out to be the last time he saw them alive.
Hours later, an express boat crashed at Sungai Anap, killing his father Peter Julan, 28, mother Beremas Nyuweng, 26, and three-year-old sister Amelia Peter.
“I miss them,” the orphan told The Star yesterday outside the Bintulu Hospital morgue, where he and some relatives waited for his family’s remains.
“I liked my younger sister the most,” he said.
Desmond, whose ambition is to become a police officer, stayed behind as he was attending school at SK Tatau. His parents and sister were returning to their longhouse in Ulu Kakus.
His aunt Sediah Nyuweng, who is their neighbour, said it was still unclear who would care for Desmond.
“We have not figured it out yet. Maybe I will take care of him, although I have many other children” Sediah said.
She described her sister’s young family as a happy one, that understood the importance of education.
Desmond, Sediah added, had taken the news “very well”.
She said the 10-year-old seemed okay so far, and understood the severity of the accident.
“He’s just been a little quiet.”
On what the extended family would do with the RM15,000 insurance payment for each dead victim, Sediah said the money would first go towards the funeral.
“I suppose we’ll put aside most of it for Desmond’s future, for his education. For now, we’ll use some of it to buy some new clothes for him.”
The tragedy also claimed the mother and sister of Jeluwi Ibin, 22, who was warded for high fever at Bintulu Hospital over the weekend when she was informed of the accident.
Her mother Lily Manggie, 38, and sister Lenny Ibin, nine, were returning to Kem Gabung, a logging camp on Sungai Kakus, a tributary of Sungai Anap, where their father works.
Lily’s body was among the first found by rescuers. Lenny’s body was recovered early yesterday morning.
“Why did this happen to my family? All our lives we’ve been using river transportation. Why this time, why us?” Jeluwi, who works in a hotel here, told The Star through tears.
“They were coming down specially to see me. They wanted me to get well soon. I find this so hard to accept.”
Jeluwi last saw her family members at about 10am on Monday.
“My mother’s last words to me were simple. She said, ‘I’m leaving first’,” Jeluwi said.
On whether her family members were aware of safety measures when taking river transport, she replied: “We’ve never used a life jacket in our lives.
“All these years, we never thought we would ever need them. Not just us, it’s normal for everyone I know. We just never knew it could be dangerous.”
Jeluwi is the eldest of three siblings, while Lenny, a student of SK Keseng, was the youngest. The family is from Rh Pandung along Sungai Kakus.
More on: http://thestar.com.my/news/
Credits to and source taken from: http://thestar.com.my/news/
The Strangest Year
4 years ago
0 comments:
Post a Comment