‘I managed to put a water bottle in the panther’s mouth, otherwise I’d be dead by now’

 

Photo: Sinar Harian

PETALING JAYA: A lorry driver who was attacked by a panther when he stopped at Bukit Tangga here last Thursday received more than 30 stitches to his head.

A Suresh, 54, who lives in Klang, Selangor, was, however allowed to be discharged from Tuanku Jaafar Hospital here after receiving treatment for three days.

He expressed his gratitude, saying that he only suffered injuries from the animal’s claws, but admitted he is still traumatised.

"Until now, I still can’t sleep well because I keep having nightmares of the leopard attacking me. I don’t even know where it came from, but it was really shocking and frightening," he told Sinar Harian on Monday (April 7).

Describing the incident in more detail, the father of two said that he was on his way back to Kuala Lumpur after delivering chicken feed in Jelebu.

He explained that he stopped at the location to check the condition of his lorry and to relieve himself.

"While I was washing my hands, the tiger jumped onto me and tried to bite my head, but I managed to push a water bottle into its mouth. If I hadn’t, I would definitely be dead, and the wounds on my head were just from its claws," he said.

He added that he was fortunate because another vehicle stopped in front of him and helped him contact the ambulance.

As a result, Suresh advised lorry drivers and road users to be cautious when passing through that area and to stop in safe places.

"During the six years I’ve been commuting to Jelebu, I’ve never seen a leopard in that area. The Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) visited me in the hospital and told me that the tiger that attacked me was estimated to weigh 80 to 90 kilograms," said Suresh, who has worked as a lorry driver for 25 years.

He also didn’t expect the incident to go viral on social media, and because of that, many people came to visit him in the hospital.

Previously, the media reported that the incident occurred after a video was captured by a vehicle’s dashboard camera and went viral on social media. - Star