SRI AMAN, Jan 2 — "My wife insisted to send our two daughters back to their school in Kuching yesterday,” said Mohamad Hamzah Razali, the husband of Siti Aishah Abdullah who was among nine people perished after the vehicle they were travelling in plunged into the river at the Triso Ferry Point yesterday.

The 43-year-old preacher said he did not expect that to be a sign that her wife will leave him forever.

Mohamad Hamzah said normally, he and his late wife would fetch and send their two daughters Khairunnisa, 14, and Nur Syuhada, 16, to the school.

"However, yesterday, she (Siti Aishah) insisted to be with her sister (Lorna Ting, 33) to send our daughters back to the school in Kuching,” he said when met by reporters at the Sri Aman Hospital here today.

Siti Aishah, 36, Lorna, (who was previously identified as Ronany Ting), together with Kharunnisa and Nur Suhada died after the four-wheel drive vehicle they were in went out of control and plunged into Sungai Batang Lupar, at the ferry point yesterday.

Mohamad Hamzah's three other children identified as Mohd Aiman, seven, Mohd Mustaqim, five, and four-month-old Mohd Ahmad were also killed in the tragedy at about 3.00 pm which also claimed the lives of their two cousins, Wallace Phang, seven, and Alvin Phang, 12.

Mohd Hamzah said the last time he received a WhatsApp message from his wife was after Friday prayers yesterday, saying that she was on her way to Kuching with her brother-in-law and other family members in two vehicles.

"I found out about the incident after receiving a call from my mother-in-law at about 3.19 pm,” he said adding that he accepted the fate that had befell his family as a test from God.

Meanwhile, Munah Agon, 58, the mother of Siti Aishah and Lorna when met at the Sri Aman Hospital Forensic Unit said she was still in a state of shock over the incident.

Recalling moments before the tragedy, Munah who was travelling in another vehicle trailing the unfortunate 4WD said she was only able to scream upon seeing the vehicle driven by Lorna suddenly lost control before plunging into the river.

"I couldn’t do anything except watch the car started to sink before my children and grandchildren were pulled out of the river by members of the public,” said Munah who lost two daughters and seven grandchildren in the incident.

Munah said Nur Syuhada and Khairunisa who were the students of a religious school in Samariang, Kuching were expected to start their learning session next week.

"The matter was informed by Siti Aishah when she visited my house recently. Feeling a little uneasy, I decided to join them using another vehicle driven by my son.

"Before leaving, Siti Aishah in a humorous tone had also asked me to dress beautifully,” she said.

Mohamad Hamzah said the remains of his wife and children would be buried in one grave at the Kampung Hulu Sri Aman Muslim Cemetery, while the bodies of Lorna and her two sons would be taken to Sibu after completing the post-mortem process at the Sri Aman Hospital. — Bernama