JOHOR BARU: A 12-year-old girl, fully paralysed since she was a toddler, and a baby boy became the latest victims of strong winds which ripped apart a tree, sending part of it onto the asbestos roof of a home in Kampung Sepakat Batu here today.
The drama unfolded at about 2.30pm when Siti Nuranisa Muhanapi was lying down on the floor, with her sister Siti Norbatiha, 14, and two other toddlers, aged seven months and two months.
Siti Nuranisa's mother, Zaliah Diman, 42, was babysitting the toddlers, said her 19-year-old son Mohamad Azroy was in the room when the incident occurred.
"I was sitting near the children. The seven-month-old baby boy (Zaliah could not remember the names of the babies, probably due to shock) was in a cradle next to Siti Nuranisa, while another two-month-old baby girl was in my arms.
"Siti Norbatiha was also lying down on the floor next to her sister, when we heard strong winds outside.
"Suddenly there was a very loud thud as part of the tree came crashing through the asbestos roofing. Pieces of the roofing rained down on us.
"Siti Norbatiha leaped out of harm's way, but Siti Nuranisa could not move so the shards of the roofing fell on her.
"She suffered a cut on her cheek, head and body. The baby boy also had cuts on body and head. We rushed the victims to a nearby clinic. Fortunately, the cut were not very deep but Siti Nuranisa, who is unable to speak, has been crying since the incident," she said.
After the strong winds stopped, the rain started to pour.
Neighbours later came to the house to give assistance to the family.
Lorry driver Muhanapi Mustaffa, 44, whose house was hit by the Parkia speciosa (petai tree) said he was not at home when the incident happened.
Majlis Perbandaran Kulai (MPKu) council member, Mohd Jafni Md Shukor, who visited the family said that the tree was not under the jurisdiction of the local council as it was in a kampung.
"The local council is only responsible for trees by the roadside in areas under the jurisdiction of the MPKu.
"Over the last two months, many trees have been uprooted or split apart by exceptionally strong winds, and the local council are monitoring overgrown or old trees," he said.
Fire and Rescue Services Department Second Senior Officer, Jamil Onn said the department received a distress call at 3.30pm and a fire engine with five firemen arrived at the scene 10 minutes later.