Form Five student nearly loses fingers due to playing firecrackers

KOTA BARU: The thrill of playing with firecrackers caused a Form Five student of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Belimbing, Tanah Merah, to nearly lose three of his fingers and suffer minor facial injuries as a result of being hit by a ball-shaped firecracker yesterday.
The victim's mother, Engku Aznah Engku Ismail, 45, said the incident occurred at about 3.30pm, resulting in three of her son's fingers, Nik Rashidi Azman, 17, to be nearly severed after the firecracker exploded in his hand when playing with the banned item at his friend's house.
"At first, I was in a state of disbelief when my fourth son, Nik Riduan, 15, told me his brother suffered injuries on the hand and face, but then I accepted my son's fate when contacted by Hospital Tanah Merah over the incident," she said when met at the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital, here today.
Engku Aznah said Nik Rashidi did not inform her about the accident and the teenager was sent to the Tanah Merah Hospital for treatment by his friends.
She said her third son was subsequently sent to the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital here at around 8pm last night.
"For now, the medical experts have only allowed for the injured fingers to be cleaned. They have yet to decide whether to amputate them or to let them heal," she said. — Bernama