KULAI: Just as her family was beginning to come to terms with the loss of her husband, tragedy struck again when market trader Mardeli Marazul’s six-year-old son drowned.
Essekandar Putra Rohaizat was found dead on Nov 4, after falling into a retention pond near their home.
The mother of three said the family was devastated when her husband died last year and the boy, who had been particularly close to his father, was still struggling to cope with the loss.
“I never imagined that he would also be taken away from me less than a year later.
“But I have to accept what has happened and carry on, I still have two other children who need me.
“I cannot pretend to be strong because the truth is, I am not. But I have to keep going for my children,” she said at her home in Taman Sungai Mas here.
Mardeli said she thought Essekandar Putra was asleep in his room when the accident happened, unaware that he had slipped out.
She remembered her son as a cheerful and talkative boy who was well-liked by many traders and visitors at the market.
Kulai Municipal Council president Muhammad Shahril Azizi Abd Gapar visited Mardeli at her home and the retention pond where the boy drowned.
He said the pond had been fenced off and its gates kept locked as a temporary measure to prevent a recurrence.
“We will also put up signboards warning the public against entering the area,” he said, adding that action could be taken against those who did not adhere to the restrictions.
