Kepong murders: Father who threw children off flyover had depression

A father who threw his three children off a flyover in Kepong before plunging to his death yesterday was said to have been suffering from depression since last year.

According to police and a refugee group activist, the 38-year-old man used to do electrical wiring jobs since he came to Malaysia from Myanmar about 10 years ago.

However, he became jobless when the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, which in turn led to multiple travel restrictions and an economic downturn.

It became worse when the man was infected by the coronavirus last year.

"The father had a mental problem about one year ago after he was infected with Covid-19.

“The mother came to the police station to give her statement yesterday evening," Sentul district police chief Beh Eng Lai told Malaysiakini today.

Factors contributing to suicide are often complex, and mental health problems do not necessarily lead to suicide.

Athough a serious public health problem, suicides are preventable with timely, evidence-based and often low-cost interventions, the World Health Organisation said.

It was learned that the man met his wife, 28, after both of them fled their home country to seek refuge in Malaysia. They had two sons aged four and six, and an eight-year-old daughter.

The youngest is still receiving treatment in the intensive care unit at Selayang Hospital for injuries, including a broken leg, sustained in the 5.50am incident at the Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2) highway. His two siblings and the father died on the spot.

Signs of mental illness

Alliance of Chin Refugees activist Ai John told Malaysiakini that the man had been under a lot of stress because of his inability to find a job and failure to secure identification documents from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for his youngest child.

This was because the four-year-old was said to have been born at the family house in Prima Kepong and had no birth certificate.

"After the father was infected with Covid-19, he started to show signs of mental illness. At times, he would sit alone in the house and not speak to anyone for the whole day. At other times he would cry or laugh by himself.

"According to his wife, he had previously asked her if she would be able to take care of the children when he dies," said John, who had been helping the mother in dealing with authorities following the incident.

The mother works as a helper at a restaurant near their house in Kepong to make ends meet.

It had been the father and children's daily routine to fetch the mother after work at 10pm. However, on the night of the incident, they didn't show up.

John said the mother walked home alone and discovered her family was not there. She called her husband and looked for them around the neighbourhood to no avail.

"At about 5am, she received a call from her husband, who said they can not be together anymore in this world, and that they will meet again in the hereafter.

"After that, he could not be reached again,” the activist added.

The wife only learned about the incident much later after a member of the Chin community in Kepong read it in the news, which prompted them to check with the Kepong police station.

Police have classified the case under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.

Malaysiakini has also reached out to UNHCR Malaysia for comments.

If you are feeling depressed or suicidal, or know someone who is, please call the following hotlines:

Talian Kasih
Hotline: 15999

The Befrienders
Hotline: 03-76272929

Agape Counselling Centre Malaysia
Hotline: 03-77855955 or 03-77810800

Life Line Association Malaysia
Hotline: 03-42657995

The Health Ministry and Mercy Malaysia have also set up a psycho-social support line for frontline workers and others who are emotionally affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.

The line can be reached at 014-3223392, 011-63996482, 011-63994236 or 03-29359935, from 8am to 5pm. - Mkini