ASTRO AWANI'S NEWSMAN DIES AFTER COLLAPSING WHILE PUSHING FLOOD-STUCK CAR - POLICE

KANGAR, Nov 26 (Bernama) -- Astro Awani’s Perlis correspondent, Mohamad Asri Shafii, was found unconscious by the roadside along Jalan Behor Pulai, here, at 7.20 am today, after allegedly attempting to push his car, which had become stuck in floodwaters.

Kangar police chief, ACP Yusharifuddin Mohd Yusop, said that witness accounts revealed that Mohamad Asri was driving along the road when his Honda City became stranded in the flood.

“He then got out to push the car before collapsing on the road. Members of the public at the scene rushed to assist Mohamad Asri and moved him to the roadside, where they found he was no longer breathing. They immediately contacted the police for help,” he said in a statement today.

According to Astro Awani, Mohamad Asri, 49, died early this morning, believed to be due to a heart attack, while travelling home after covering the flood evacuation operations in Hat Yai.

Yusharifuddin said that a Criminal Investigation Division team from the Kangar district police headquarters (IPD) was dispatched to the scene, and an initial examination found no criminal elements. The body was then taken to the Forensic Unit of Tuanku Fauziah Hospital (HTF) for further procedures.

He added that a check of medical records showed that Mohamad Asri had a history of heart problems, and had undergone bypass surgery at the National Heart Institute (IJN) in 2011, before being hospitalised again in 2014 due to heart complications.

“He was prescribed various types of medication that he needed to take daily,” he said.

Yusharifuddin added that, according to a recorded conversation with the late journalist’s wife, Norhanani Ahmad, 48, Mohamad Asri was scheduled to return home today, after completing his coverage of the floods in Hat Yai.

Meanwhile, the third of six siblings, Mohamad Arif Aqel, 16, said that his late father had sent him a short WhatsApp message at 2 am this morning, reminding him to sleep, after the teenager had asked where his father was at that time.

“I didn’t expect my father to leave us forever, because he showed no signs of any change… he also told me via WhatsApp that he would return to our home in Taman Seri Pulai after completing his assignment in Hat Yai,” he said, when met by reporters at the HTF Forensic Unit, today.

Mohamad Arif Aqel said that the family was informed of the incident at around 7 am, by residents in their housing area, before learning that his father’s vehicle had been caught in floodwaters on the way home.

Mohamad Asri leaves behind his wife, Norhanani, and six children, aged 11 to 20, some of whom are studying at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam and the Bukit Tangga Agricultural College in Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah.

He previously served as a journalist with Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) and the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), before becoming Astro Awani’s correspondent in Perlis.

-- BERNAMA