Mother expecting baby loses adopted son in crash
Days before his death, the teenager had ominously told his pregnant mother that he did not expect to see the birth of his new sibling.
Her son, Muhammad Harith Iskandar Abdullah, died while riding a bicycle in a horrific accident that also killed seven of his friends.
Today, Hariena Kamisan, 34, told FMT that days before his death, Harith had told her it was unlikely he would see the birth of his sibling.
“I was already overdue then, so I asked why. But now that my boy’s gone and I find that I have yet to give birth, I finally understand what he meant,” she said at her home in Kampung Dato Hajjah Hasnah Ahmad, here.
According to Hariena, Harith had sneaked out in the early hours of yesterday morning to join his cycling mates.
She said he had tricked her into thinking he was home by leaving his bedroom fan on and the door locked.
Hariena said she was shocked when she knocked at his door at 6am to wake him up for “subuh” (morning prayers) and found him missing.
“When I went into his room and saw the window open, I figured he must have gone out through the window since his door was locked and the fan was on.
“I was going to scold him when he got back but when I heard the neighbours talking about an accident on Jalan Lingakaran Dalam, I started to worry.
“Deep down, I somehow knew he must have been involved.
“When I went to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) that morning and entered the morgue, I saw my baby boy there,” she said, unable to hold back her tears any longer.
She revealed that Harith was adopted and that she had cared for him since he was a baby.
She said she didn’t want Harith to be like his peers and that was why she had sent him to Sekolah Islam At-Tahfiz Pasir Gudang, a religious boarding school.
“When I told his teacher that he had passed away, his teacher was shocked because Harith was such a hardworking student and had memorised many chapters of the Quran, including the Yassin and Al-Kahfi.
“Harith might have been easily influenced but he wasn’t a naughty boy and he never talked back and was never rude. He used to tease his three siblings. I will feel his loss.
Hairena said she never expected Harith to act so sneakily but said perhaps that was the way of “children nowadays”.
“I don’t want to blame others because Harith was my child but sometimes, we cannot really know how our children think or who they mix with.
“They may look like sweet children in front of us but act differently behind our backs,” she said.
Harith’s friend, Abdul Rahman Othman Ludin, 18, said the scene of the crash in which his friend died, was just half an hour’s ride away from the boy’s home.
“The last time I saw Harith was on Friday at 11pm. He smiled and showed off the Osaka shirt he was wearing,” Abdul Rahman said.
Harith was buried at the Kebun Teh cemetery at 5pm yesterday.
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