Emyr Uzayr, one of the Tanjong Katong Primary School students that survived the earthquake in Sabah last week, returned to Singapore early Sunday morning (Jun 7) and is now in the high dependency ward at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. He has been seeing a steady stream of visitors since his return, including the Education Minister Heng Swee Keat on Sunday evening.
“He is recovering, even with the fracture on his skull,” said his father Sadri Farick. “We are not going to proceed with the operation because there might be risks. We are just going to leave it (to heal) naturally because we have been advised by the neurosurgeons.”
According to Emyr, one of his teachers, Mohamed Faizal, who recovering from his injuries, had used his body to shield three of the pupils from falling rocks and boulders on Mount Kinabalu during the earthquake. The other teachers on trip include Mr Terrence Loo, who was among seven from the school who died, and Mr Mohammad Ghazi, who is still missing.
Mr Sadri paid tribute to the teachers for their selfless acts. “They went two or three miles, helping them, shielding them, taking the hits, even with a broken skull and bones, they still brought them down 7 kilometres in blocked paths,” said Mr Sadri. “To me and most of the parents I’ve talked to, we owe it to the teachers.
“For the others who have perished, I know for the late Mr Terrence, he did help a bunch and he went up again. He’s a real hero and as for Mr Ghazi, who is still missing – undeniably – I was told by some of the kids that he helped and he went up back again,” he said.
“All the students said they are very nice teachers. They would stay behind after school hours and work about 13 hours a day for the children and loved their job.”
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
