By Nurul Huda Jamaluddin & Rajina Dhillon
KUALA LUMPUR: While a bystander Teo Chai Yong, 31, rushed to obtain a fire extinguisher to help rescue a woman from her blazing car early yesterday morning, he claimed other witnesses just watched indifferently.
Wondering what happened to the famed Malaysian ever-helpful spirit, he said: "The dozens of bystanders just roamed around, taking pictures and videos like it was some freak show." Already saddened by this display of poor attitude, he was further angered by how discussions were taking place on how a post-mortem would be conducted on the charred flesh.
"It was so disgusting. How can these people be so insensitive and casual about such a tragic death?" Teo was heading home during the 3.30am incident near the Cheras velodrome, when he came across a three-car pileup involving a Perodua Myvi, a Toyota Vios and a lorry. "At first, I only saw the upside down Toyota Vios and the front passenger was being pulled out as I drove by. So, I thought everything was under control. Seconds later, I heard a woman screaming from the Perodua Myvi wreckage. "I stopped my car and quickly ran towards the Myvi to get her out as I dialed the emergency line, 999. As I got closer, I saw flame flickers at the engine area waiting to ignite, my first instinct was to put it out immediately. I ran back into my car and rushed to the nearest BHPetrol station about 300 metres away to get a fire extinguisher."
Despite his desperate pleading, Teo claimed: "The petrol attendants refused his plea and said they were not allowed to loan out the fire extinguisher. I was even willing to leave my IC with them as a guarantee, but they still did not budge." Outraged, he started banging on the glass door and shouted at them. "Instead of handing me the fire extinguisher, one of the attendants said all my actions were being recorded via the CCTV, as he took down my car registration number and threatened to lodge a police report."
Finally giving up, Teo drove back to the scene and realised his efforts were in vain because by that time, the car was completely engulfed in flames. Recalling this disheartening sight, Teo said: "I could not stop blaming myself and kept thinking 'If only I'd gotten the fire extinguisher'. I stood there helplessly hearing her screams as she was burnt alive. The screams were the hardest to bear." Teo was even more devastated when the police, who arrived at the scene also told him the girl could have been saved if he had obtained the fire extinguisher in time.
When contacted, BHPetrol station operator Boustead Petroleum Marketing Sdn Bhd issued a statement to The Malay Mail stating: "We regret this has happened. The incident took place at 3am. "Thefts and robberies at service stations are common during these hours. Thus staff at the service station were only concerned and did not respond to the request as the attendant could not see the accident which took place some 300m away."
Burnt accident victim from Sarawak
KUALA LUMPUR: The woman who died in a burning car following an accident yesterday morning at a flyover along Jalan Cheras has been identified. The victim, who was driving a Myvi, was Florina Joseph, 27, from Sarawak, and her last-known address was at Bandar Damai Perdana, Cheras. The Myvi burst into flames after it was rammed head-on by a Toyota Vios travelling from the opposite direction, heading towards Jalan Loke Yew.
The body of the deceased was sent to the Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM) mortuary for a postmortem. Kuala Lumpur traffic police investigation officer DSP Abdullah Roning said police are trying to locate the victim's family members.
He said the Toyota Vios driver, a 33-year-old male who suffered serious injuries, and his passenger, a 24-yearold woman who sustained minor injuries, were both sent to HUKM for treatment. He also said blood samples have been taken from the male driver and his passenger for toxicology tests which will take a week to be completed.
Lorry driver Abdul Halim Awang helplessly witnessed the entire incident as the victim screamed for help in her burning car. "The Vios hit the Myvi head-on and the collision forced the Myvi to crash backwards against my lorry and the Myvi spun a few times before coming to a stop," said Abdul Halim. Source: The Malay Mail 4/6/10
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My Comments: I would like to send my condolences to the family of Florina Joseph on the passing away of their beloved daughter. Based on the reports, we should point fingers not only towards the pump attendant but also to the driver of Toyota Vios, who had caused this accident. In the first place, the driver of Toyota Vios should be blamed and he must be brought to justice. Secondly is the pump attendant. If the pump attendant could borrowed the fire extinguisher to Teo, then Teo could saved Florina Joseph life. Now, everything had passed and obviously I heard a lot of people saying they wanted to boycott BHP. Well, I would not boycott them as this incident not involved the the whole BHP company but to the company who are selling the petrol with BHP. I would boycott the Taman Pertama BHPetrol who gave us a bad image where they failed to save a life even Teo had offered his Identification Card to exchange with the fire extinguisher. Everyone has the responsibility to save a life because you can make a difference. No matter what, the statement from BHP managing director had been not very encouraging as well and I at least he is still contactable to comment. He should apologise and regret on the incident and not just said because "We regret this has happened. The incident took place at 3am. "Thefts and robberies at service stations are common during these hours. Thus staff at the service station were only concerned and did not respond to the request as the attendant could not see the accident which took place some 300m away." Last but not least, DO NOT consume any alchohol while driving and be extra careful on the road or else, accidents do happened and more and more life will be taken away just because of the humans themselves.
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