Socso benefit comes in handy for accident victim's family

SETIU: The Social Security Organisation (Socso) of Terengganu today presented RM2,000 in funeral benefits to the family of Azizah Jamaludin, the victim of a fatal accident in Setiu on Saturday.
Her husband, Mohd Apendi Deraman, 41, was grateful and thanked Socso for its concern in providing the aid immediately.
He said he had not expected the Socso savings made by his late wife when she was previously working in Johor to come in handy now, he told reporters during the handing over of the Socso aid at his home here.
In the 6.40am incident, three women were killed and another was injured after their car collided with a four-wheel drive vehicle at Kilometre 59, Jalan Pantai Kuala Terengganu-Kampung Raja, Setiu.
In the crash, canteen owner, Marina Deraman, 48, and her two employees Azizah, 48, and an Indonesian, Dewiyanti Demmagassing, 36, died on the spot, while Nor Ashimah Mohd Yasim, 36, was seriously injured.
When the accident occurred, all the victims were in the Proton Waja, on their way to their workplace at Kolam Udang Kampung Nyatoh here.
The late Azizah leaves behind her husband and a son, Muhammad Luqman Haikal Mohd Apendi, 12, who will receive a monthly pension of RM475 until the age of 21 or until he gets a first degree if he continues his studies.
Meanwhile, in another development, Terengganu Socso director Nora Yaacob said that until February this year, Socso Terengganu had spent almost RM2 million to pay benefits to contributors across the state.
"Last year we spent a total of RM14 million to pay benefits to eligible contributors and I would like to advise the community and employers especially those who are eligible to contribute to Socso to immediately do so.
"Because as we can see today, the late Azizah had not contributed to Socso for a long time and the last time she did so was in 2004. But the money she contributed has been beneficial to her husband and children. To hand over the benefit today we took the initiative to track Azizah's family after news of her accident came out in a local newspaper," she said. — Bernama