A 9-month old baby landed in a coma after a mentally unstable teenager highjacked two cars on the East Coast Highway early this week.
The terror ride took place around 6pm at the Bukit Besi-Ajil area of the East Coast Highway. The infant’s mother Che Mastura Che Awang, 31, injured her rib and his father Abdul Pirhat Karim, 34, fractured his right shoulder. The family were traveling to Kuala Lumpur from Kelantan in a Grand Livina vehicle with their sister and brother-in-law, who were also both from the police force.
The suspect hijacked the vehicle when the police couple had gone to the restroom. He drove the family away from the rest area, and skidded out of control before crashing into another car and a lorry. The baby and his father were thrown out of the car in the impact.
Shortly after the incident, the unarmed suspect then stopped a Perodua Myvi heading to Kuala Terengganu. He pretended to ask for help, but as soon as the driver got out, he drove off with the four passengers.
The car was tracked down and the passengers were unharmed. Terengganu police chief Datuk Jamshah Mustapa said, “Initial investigations showed that the boy’s motive was not to steal the cars. He is a school dropout and we believe that he is mentally unstable,” he said.
The teenage suspect tested negative for drugs and has been remanded. He will be referred to a psychiatrist soon.
Fortunately, the nine-month old’s coma didn’t last long as it was reported that he had just come out of his coma recently. The infant’s coma lasted for two days.
“Thankfully, my son is showing positive signs such as being able to respond and cry. He is also able to drink milk, although the doctor says he can only do so via a tube for now,” said Abdul Pirhat, 34.