Nurhanim (right) presents the cash donation to Lee. Also seen are See (left) and Vivi (holding Rocky in her arms).
KUCHING: A family of four has been taking shelter in a car for over a month until their ‘moving home’ was hit by another vehicle last Tuesday (Dec 20).
Father of two, Jacson Lee Eik Soon,33, has been jobless for six months and thus, has limited means to make ends meet.
Before they resorted to spending nights in the car, the family had been staying over at friends’ houses since May.
“You know, problems happen when you stay at a friend’s place. We lived in a rented unit in Matang before my father passed away last April.
“After the passing of my father, we had to give up the house as we could not afford the rent,” Lee said when met at the state Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) headquarters here yesterday.
State PKR Wanita chief Nurhanim Mokhsen handed over a cash donation to Lee and his family in the presence of state PKR vice-chairman and Batu Lintang asemblyman See Chee How during a simple ceremony.
Lee said he and his Indonesian wife, Vivi Nilawati, 32, had been selling bananas but the earnings were not enough to support the family.
Before becoming a banana seller, he worked as a salesman and had been employed by various companies.
“I have culinary skills,” Lee revealed, in the hope that potential employers could offer him a job so that he could earn a livelihood to support his family.
The family’s plight would not have come to light had it not been for the accident on Tuesday which severely damaged their car and also caused Lee’s four-year-old daughter to sustain severe injuries.
His daughter has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) after the ill-fated incident.
The fact that the driver fled the scene after hitting the family’s car dismayed Lee as he lamented: “She has no conscience about causing serious injuries to my daughter who is still in the ICU. She has not come to see my daughter, not even once.”
Recalling Tuesday’s incident, he said they were on the way to the top carpark at E-Mart Matang when the car ran out of fuel.
He thought of seeking help from friends, but it was already past midnight.
He even asked help from a security guard at the mall, but to no avail.
“It was 1am or 2am, and I could not bring myself to bother my friends. But I did ask for help from the security guard there. He wanted to help me buy petrol but did not have a bottle to do so (carry the fuel).
“I was left with no choice but to park my car by the roadside, thinking that I could get help in the morning.”
Little did he know that another vehicle would ram into their car around 4am. Lee claimed that not only was the driver speeding but she was also under the influence of alcohol.
At the moment, Lee and wife Vivi as well as their three-year-old son, Rocky Lee Abdullah, are staying at Anjung Kasih, the temporary shelter at SGH provided by the government for the families of poor and outstation patients who seek treatment at the hospital.
According to Lee, the family is allowed to stay at Anjung Kasih for a month or until his daughter is discharged.
He has two elder siblings—a sister and a brother. He said the siblings gave the family some money, but could not provide shelter.
He disclosed that they mostly parked their car at various carparks such as at Kuching International Airport and commercial centres.
Lee and Vivi have yet to register their marriage. Lee said they had been together for five years even though Vivi is legally married to another man all these years.
“Vivi’s identity card still states that she is married. She has been separated from her Indonesian husband, but with no divorce paper to prove this.
“We do not know the whereabouts of the Indonesian husband. Vivi and I cannot register our marriage because her Indonesian identity card says she is married.”
Given this scenario, Lee said both his children have yet to be registered with the National Registration Department (NRD).
Meanwhile, Nurhanim said she would approach the NRD’s special taskforce to help Lee with documentation.
Members of the public who are willing to help the family may contact Lee at 019-8554545.