SELANGOR, MALAYSIA — Earlier on Wednesday (21 Dec), the Malaysian rescue team of the operation at the landslide in Batang Kali, retrieved the bodies of the 25th victim after a continuous search of the site.
The rescue team found the body of a 6-year-old girl buried under 17-meter-deep soil.
“The child’s body, in pink pyjamas, was found buried under 17-metre deep soil. There were no major injuries on the body., “ Suffian Abdullah, Hulu Selangor police chief Superintendent told the local media.
Hafisham Mohd, assistant director of Selangor Fire and Rescue Department Operations Division told Astro Awani that the rescue team did not expect the body to be located so deep underground.
“We dug for about 12 meters earlier. Apparently, it (the victim’s body) is still located deeper. Survey and Mapping Department of Malaysia (JUPEM), assisted us in calculating the depth of the ground.”
“We dredged five meters deeper, and the child’s body was found near a boulder the size of an excavator,” he added.
According to Malaysian media Oriental Daily News, a psychic had been earlier asked to help locate the missing girl, and the psychic had “sensed” the girl was buried deep underneath the soil.
Ms Wai Fong (曾慧芳), a psychic from Seremban wrote a Facebook post on 20 December, sharing her exchange with a friend who asked her to help a family to locate their child who was believed to be buried in the landslide.
She wrote that she “sensed” that the young girl was not far away from the site but instead, very deep in the ground.
“She’s not crushed but trapped in the dark, hard to see… Her body curled, and I feel that she might broken her leg or hand, she’s crying and finding her parents, she is in the dark and scared…,” Wai Fong described what she sensed about the girl after taking a look at her photo and learnt her name.
She said her friend asked if there was any hope of finding the girl’s body.
“If rain for another time to wash out(the dirt), then there might be hope.” she foretold.
Wai Fong wrote the post on 20 December at 5 pm. At 11.20 pm on the same day, the rescue team found the girl.
Rescue team found the girl’s deceased parent earlier
The victim Lai Yu Xi, is the elder daughter of the Lai family, a family of four who also perished in the landslide.
Her parent, 33-year-old Lai Chee Sam Lai See Tin and two-year-old younger brother Jonas Lai Ze Kai were found before 18 December among the deceased victims.
As Yu Xi was finally “reunited” with her family, their heartbroken relatives held a funeral for the Lai family at their home town in Melaka, Machap Baru.
Wai Fong is well-known for her psychic ability and had been previously interviewed by Malaysian media, sharing her experience of how she acts as a medium between the deceased and their living family members.
Wai Fong says she does not advocate superstition
Wai Fong, however, clarified that she does not advocate for the public to dabble in superstition, and her intention is merely to assist those family members at the funeral to understand or “communicate” with their deceased loved ones.
Wai Fong’s post garnered mixed reactions among netizens. Many expressed their condolence to the deceased, while some disagreed with media reports on her actions, saying that it promotes superstition among the population and undermines the rescuers’ efforts who had worked relentlessly to find the victim.
In another post on 21 December, she apologised to a friend who talked to her earlier for the unwanted attention from the media and the public.
She stressed that she sees her psychic ability as a mission to help others and has no intention of profiting from it.
“If you want to call me charlatan, then so be it. Accusing that I’m cheating money, wanting to get famous, spreading rumors or etc, anyway I will still express my gratitude and thank you. After all, I believed this slander can help me to pay off my karma, ” she wrote.
Netizen asked Wai Fong to find the last victim
Nevertheless, as the rescue team eagerly searched for the last victim, some netizens commented on Wai Fong’s Facebook page, hoping she could help to locate the last victim and bring him home.
The authorities had earlier announced that the rescue team was still searching for the last victim.
According to Sin Chew Daily, the name of the lone victim is 11-year-old Wong Saw Qi, he is a fifth grade student of SJK(C) Mun Choong primary school and the son of the deceased canteen operator Mr Wong Chu Wen.
Netizen Desryne San wrote: “Sorry to interrupt your vacation, could you please help my friend to find her nephew, the kid Wong Saw Qi? He’s the only one (victim) left.”
Eunies Lee See wrote: “Hope you can help to find my friend’s son, the poor kiddo. His belated father and sister are still waiting for him to continue their (afterlife) journey.”
Another netizen then asked if the young boy had any favourite food and suggested bringing it to the incident site.
Lee Kaiyet, “manager” of Wai Fong, posted a Facebook post yesterday, stating that Wai Fong has not “seen” the last boy and hopes to “see” him when she goes to sleep. He also asked those who wish to bother Wai Fong to go through him first.
