THEY say curiosity killed the cat. In the case of misadventures involving firecrackers, curiosity can cause people to lose their fingers.
Despite the numerous news reports on firecracker accidents, some choose to throw caution to the wind, thinking that it would never happen to them.
In Kota Baru, a 17-year-old boy lost all the fingers of his right hand after lighting a ball-shaped firecracker that he found by the roadside.
Now, he has to adjust to life as a disabled person and learn to eat, play and study without those fingers.
The boy might be old enough to be able to tell right from wrong, but it probably didn't occur to him that something smaller than a ping pong ball would cause such misery to him.
This is where we, the adults, can play a role in ensuring a safer environment, not just for the children, but for all. It doesn't help that some parents are buying firecrackers for their young ones with the excuse that they are harmless and that they would liven up the Raya mood.
Should something happen, we have no one else to blame but ourselves if we allow children to play with firecrackers.
Sure, the fancy packaging and colourful designs will entice even the most uninterested ones.
The most exciting fireworks that I played with as a child was mercun katak which were shaped like a frog.
However, instead of hopping around, it would spin and emit bright sparks for about 10 seconds.
Back then, even playing sparklers would cause an uproar at home if no adults were supervising the children in the front yard of our grandparents' house.
We always looked forward to Raya since it was the only time when we could see and play with firecrackers.
Naturally, the impatient ones would look for them and bring them out secretly. We were punished severely when we got caught.
We were taught that while it was not wrong to have fun, it had to be done responsibly, and we were the responsibility of the adults.
That was years before we learnt that it was an offence to have fireworks. Over the years, firecrackers have evolved from something merely emitting bright colours to something dangerous.
With the use of various media in information dissemination, we can no longer claim ignorance as arrests and operations against the sale of firecrackers are widely reported.
Under Section 4(2) of the Explosives Act 1957, any person manufacturing, possessing or importing any explosive is liable to imprisonment for five years, or to a fine of RM10,000, or both.
A man was caught recently after advertising firecrackers on Facebook. He had used his entrepreneurial talents in a wrong way to try to make a little extra cash and is paying for it.
Those of us who are tempted to have a few hours of fun and excitement playing with firecrackers should remember that we might end up regretting our actions for life.