Kluang: A niece of one of the victims killed in a road crash in front of the Simpang Renggam Prison this afternoon said she was deeply saddened and unable to come to terms with the fact that she and her family did not manage to take any photographs or videos with her aunt this year, as they usually did during Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Aidiladha celebrations.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Nurul Hidayah Kamarruddin, 29, said the last time she and her sister, Nur Syamimi, 33, met their aunt, the late Nor Azlina Abd Latif, 33, was when her family hosted a 'kenduri doa selamat' (thanksgiving feast) and Aidiladha gathering at their home in Jasin, Melaka, on Saturday (May 30).
She said the family had been focused on the gathering and never thought of taking photographs as they normally would, spending the time instead chatting, exchanging greetings and talking about life in Terengganu. 'Our aunt also spoke about our grandmother, Semek Mat Soh, who had suffered a stroke and was being cared for on a rotational basis by my mother's siblings. Last Saturday was the day we all met.
'At 2.40 pm today, I was shocked when I received news that my aunt, uncle, grandmother and another victim, who was also Nor Azlina's niece, had died after being involved in a crash in Kluang,' she told reporters when met at the Forensic Department of the Enche' Besar Hajjah Khalsom Hospital here.
According to Nurul Hidayah, after the gathering at her house on Saturday, her aunt and family were understood to have travelled to Alai, Melaka, where they stayed before heading for their home in Kota Tinggi this morning. 'When I was told that they had been involved in a crash and had died, I was speechless because I had only just met them. I immediately rushed to Kluang,' she said.
Earlier, the crash in front of the Simpang Renggam Prison involved five vehicles - a Toyota Vios, Perodua Alza, Proton Wira, Mercedes E240 and a BMW. Four victims were reported to have died at the scene, namely Mohd Aiman Mohd Rashid, 36, Nur Airish Syifa Sidek, 10, Nor Azlina, and Semek, 73.