KOTA KINABALU: Two Fire and Rescue personnel who risked their life in saving a senior citizen during a suicide attempt three months ago, paid off when they were awarded by the department for their bravery.
Fire and Rescue Services Department senior officer II Niam Hing Ming and officer Suhaili Sidik were among 27 people who received an award from the Sabah Fire and Rescue Department director Khirudin Drahman for their service and contribution to the department during an award ceremony at the Sabah Fire and Rescue headquarters here yesterday.
Niam, when met yesterday, said during the 30-minute ordeal, he had tried everything to prevent the man from taking his own life.
“For 30 minutes I tried to persuade and distract him by offering him food, drinks and cigarettes. I also stretched out my hand to persuade him to come in but he just refused to even stand closer to the window.
“But when the opportunity arose, I immediately grabbed his arm and T-shirt,” he said, adding that other rescuers also came to his aid to grab and pull the man in to safety.
Suhaili, who was also involved in the rescue said the man’s family were also called to persuade him not to jump but was ignored.
“After all attempts failed, we took a different approach by sneaking quietly and gave a signal when the time was right to grab him,” he said.
On February 22, a 58-year-old pensioner attempted to commit suicide by jumping off the 11th floor of Wisma Jubili in Kota Kinabalu.
His attempt was foiled when he was rescued by fire and rescue personnel, police and members of the public who managed to pull him in the nick of time after breaking a few windows of the building.
The tragic thing is, after being discharged from hospital, the man took his own life by hanging himself at his home in Taman Fraiser, Penampang on March 29.