By Roger J Duyong
October 9, 2007, SIBU/SARAWAK, MALAYSIA: Three weeks after the 6 year-old hostage victim, who has endured the worst experience of his young life and went into a coma for several days, he is finally awake a few days ago.
However, the boy – Lok Chee Meng – is still not out of the wood yet, as doctors are trying to stop an endless flow of blood from one the wounds on the head. The boy had undergone two major operations to remove blood clots in his head, prior to collapsing into a coma.
His 65 year-ol father, who had initially wanted to send the boy – the youngest in the family – to the state capital city of Kuching, has to forget his plan. Instead, it was suggested that a specialist doctor from Kuching would be summoned to Bintulu Hospital to treat the boy.
Information from the hospital at this point of time said that the boy was a real fighter and is said to be in stable condition. The family of boy is also said to be moentally strong as prayers were offered by sympathizers and well-wishers from all over the state.
"We will keep on offering prayers of thank to God Almighty who has spared the life of a young boy. We trust that the boy will grow into some who is able to encourage others and strengthen them in their faith in God," a member of the public said.
The second-year kindergarten school going boy was held hostage by his uncle, a naturalized Filipino who lives in the same house with the family, after a domestic quarrel with the wife. The boy was at home on a week school break when the incident took place.
The deranged man, described as a madman by people, dragged the boy into a top room of a two-story semi-detached house, after he had earlier on stabbed and slashed his wife. The wife who ran downstairs screaming for help was pursued by the suspect, ‘Jimmy’ 49 years old. She managed to elude him, on his way back he forcefully grabbed the boy and took him hostage.
Jimmy was shot dead by the police "Strike Force" after a 16-hour standoff, but not without injuring the six-year old boy, who is also his own nephew. He had severed the boy’s three fingers, one by one and pushed each one under the door to tell the policemen that he meant business.
The incident was the first ever happened on the quiet and peaceful land of Sarawak, located on the north part of Borneo Island. The reality took a lot of people by surprise as they had thought that such an event, which normally occurred elsewhere around the world before this, ever happened here.
The heart-wrenching episode, which took place on November 25 and 26, was given a wide coverage in the local print and electronic media.
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