'We were waiting for him to come home', says IKBN student's father
ALOR STAR: "We were waiting for him (Muhammad Habil Mohd Sobri) to come home today because we were supposed to head back to our hometown in Bagan Serai, Perak, tonight to celebrate Hari Raya Aidiladha.
"But we never imagined we would only be bringing his body home," said Mohd Sobri Khamis, 47, the father of Muhammad Habil, one of three National Youth Skills Institute (IKBN) students in Jitra who were killed in a crash on the North-South Expressway near Alor Star today.
Sobri said Habil, the eldest of four siblings, had informed his wife, Sarah Abdul Rashid, 42, about two days ago that he would be returning to their home in Kampung Paya Mengkuang, Gurun.
He said Habil had been especially close to his mother and kept in touch with her almost every day.
"He used to come home every week, and the last time I saw him was last week.
"I found out about the accident after a cousin contacted us, perhaps someone used the last number he had dialled, which was his cousin's," he said when met at the Forensic Department of Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital (HSB) today.
He described Habil as a good son and the pride of the family, having studied at IKBN Jitra for the past year.
According to him, Habil still had a year and a half left before completing his studies at the institute.
"We were meant to go back to his mother's hometown tonight to celebrate Raya, but we had to cancel our plans due to this tragic incident.
"His mother cried throughout the journey, unable to accept that this had happened and that he's now gone forever," he said.
Sobri said the body would be brought back to their village in Kampung Paya Mengkuang for burial once the post-mortem is completed.
Earlier, it was reported that three IKBN students were killed in an accident involving two motorcycles and a car at Km49.4 of the North-South Expressway.
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