More than 200 attend funeral of Gerik crash victim

BACHOK: More than 200 family members, villagers and friends attended the funeral of one of the victims of a three-vehicle crash in Gerik, Perak, tonight.

Mohamad Hafiz Daniel Nik Hairey, 19, was buried at 10.45pm at the Kampung Tok Jawa Islamic Cemetery in Budi here.

Earlier, funeral prayers were held at his family home before villagers and friends carried his body on foot for about 200 metres to the cemetery.

His father, Nik Hairey Nik Rahim, 42, said the last time he saw his son was on Saturday night, before Hafiz left for Gerik at 4am on Sunday.

He said Hafiz had told his mother that he had work in Perak and planned to travel there with a friend, but did not elaborate on the nature of the work.

"That afternoon, we received news of his death at about 6pm," he said when met at the Kampung Tok Jawa Islamic Cemetery in Budi, Tawang, here tonight.

Nik Hairey said his son had shown no signs that he was about to leave the family for good.

He described Hafiz as a cheerful person with many friends, evident from the large turnout at his funeral.

Hafiz, who worked selling nasi ayam gepuk at night markets, was earlier accorded funeral prayers at Taiping Hospital, Perak, before his body arrived at his family home in Kampung Tok Jawa at 7pm today.

He was the eldest of four siblings, aged 15, 10 and four, to Nik Hairey and his wife Norazira Mohd Nasir, 41.

It was reported earlier that four people, including a woman and a three-year-old girl, were killed in the crash involving a Perodua Axia, Proton Persona and lorry at Kilometre 38.5 of the East-West Highway (JRTB) Gerik-Jeli in Perak at about 12.50pm on Sunday.

The victims were Mohamad Hafiz Daniel, his friend Al Zubair Deraman, 31, and Tuan Syazrin Tuan Mud, 40, and his daughter, Safiyya Haura Mohamad Sanuzi, three.

Another of Tuan Syazrin's children, Mohamad Shiraz Hammani Abdul Fattah, nine, was seriously injured.