NILAI: A man recovering from injury risked his own safety to dive into a three-metre deep sewage pit at a Lenggeng school yesterday.
Muhammad Arsyad Jahaya, 35, was attending his child’s sports day when the emergency occurred.
Despite suffering from a recent traffic accident in August, he immediately responded to a teacher’s plea for help.
“I was filming a video when preschool children started a running event, then there was a commotion,“ he recalled.
The teacher urgently asked if he could swim and directed him to the incident site.
Muhammad Arsyad found the uncovered hole and learned that firefighters had been summoned.
Fearing delayed response time, he decided to attempt the rescue himself.
The pit contained dark, foul-smelling water that reached his neck level.
He first requested a stick to measure the depth before spotting the victim’s floating cap and shoes.
“I immediately dove in without thinking about how dirty the water was,“ he said.
He successfully grabbed the victim under the arms and pushed him upward for the crowd to pull out.
Despite his rib soft tissue injury, Muhammad Arsyad felt no pain during the rescue effort.
“Lifting the victim felt easy and light, and I’m grateful God eased the task,“ he expressed.
He expressed sadness that the nine-year-old boy had already passed away.
Nilai police chief Supt Abdul Malik Hasim confirmed public assistance in retrieving the victim before firefighters arrived.
Eight witnesses have been called to provide statements for the investigation.
Authorities are investigating under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001.
Media identified the victim as Year Three student Abdul Fatah Khairol Rizal.
The Ministry of Education has instructed the Negeri Sembilan Education Department to immediately investigate the incident.
MOE director-general Dr Mohd Azam Ahmad reminded all school administrators to ensure facility safety.
School authorities must regularly check that all school facilities remain secure for students. – Bernama
