By Chan Li Leen
PERAK, MALAYSIA - It was an emotional scene at drowned victim V. Divyashree's home in Taman Changkat Golf here with her distraught father chasing away her schoolmates.
The grief-stricken father seemed on the verge of a breakdown as he yelled at the top of his voice for the group of pupils from SJK (T) Gopeng to leave.
The sight of school uniforms was too much for him.
"Don't send children to school. They are all killing them," K. Vasudevan, 34, who works as a technician in Kuala Lumpur, repeatedly screamed as a few men tried to restrain him and calm him down.
The dozen of schoolchildren, who were also crying, obeyed and waited at a house across the road.
"Her father was very upset to see us. He said that he didn't want to see anyone wearing school uniforms.
"But then, we only wanted to say our goodbyes to Divyashree," said one of them.
The children were later ushered into the house when Vasudevan finally calmed down and remained outside the house.
Divyashree's 41-year-old mother R. Kana-kam fainted a few times. She had been briefly warded at the Kampar Hospital after fainting outside its mortuary.
Gopeng MIC branch Wanita chief P. Saro-jini, who is a close friend of the family, said the couple could not accept the death of their eldest daughter.
"They had believed she was merely lost in the jungle. The truth only hit them at the mortuary," she said.
Sarojini said Divyashree was an intelligent and obedient girl, and that she had been her parent's hope for a brighter future.
"She would wake up at 4am in the morning to study.
"She would always tell me how good it would be if she could get RM100 (S$41) for every A she obtains in her UPSR examination so she could give the money to her parents.
"In fact, she was the one who encouraged her parents to take part in the Human Resources Ministry's retraining scheme in Kuala Lumpur so the family could have a better life.
"She did not mind being left behind with her younger sister in a neighbour's house," Sarojini said.
The scene at the home of M. Devatharshini in Taman Diawan, Mambang Diawan in Kampar, was relatively calmer.
Her father K. Mageswaran, whose eyes were swollen from too much crying, said his daughter's death seemed surreal.
"Sometimes, I have to sit and think if all this is real. I keep wishing that it is just a dream.
"She was our only daughter and I loved her the most," the father said, breaking down into tears.
Relating the last time he saw his daughter, Mageswaran said he had arrived home at noon and saw Devatharshini leaving on her bicycle.
"She had clothes and things packed in her basket. She started crying when she saw me and pleaded with me to allow her to go to the camp.
"She wrote a letter to her mother and placed it on the altar, begging for her mother's forgiveness and blessings," he added.
Mageswaran later received RM3,000 from the Ngan Yin Groundnut Factory Sdn Bhd where his wife, R. Nagaratana works as a packer.
Mageswaran added that he would consider taking up the free legal advice offered by Perak DAP to sue the Education Ministry, the Kampar education department and contractors of the bridge over the incident.
Perak executive councillor Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon, who visited both families, told reporters that the state government would help out the victims' families with a contribution of RM10,000 each.
The two girls, along with 11-year-old N. Dina Deve who also died, were among 22 pupils who fell into Sungai Kampar after the collapse of the suspension bridge they were crossing during a 1Malaysia camp.
Dina Deve's body was found 3km down-river the day after the 10.30pm incident.
Devatharshini's body was found by a Rela search and rescue team at about 11.30pm on Wednesday while the body of 12-year-old Divyashree was recovered by rescuers from the army at about 9.45am yesterday.
Kampar OCPD Superintendent Abdul Aziz Salleh said the body of 11-year-old Devathar-shini was recovered in Tanjung Tualang about 16km from the collapsed bridge.
Divyashree's body was found in Sungai Chenderiang near Tronoh Mines, 15km away, he added.
-The Star/Asia News Network
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