Horseplay in a self-service launderette in Rawang went awry when a young boy found himself stuck inside a washing machine for over ten minutes after the door became stuck.
Early Monday morning, the boy, his mother, father, and uncle were in a Bukit Sentosa launderette when the uncle decided to put the boy inside one of the front-loading washing machines as “a joke.”
Unfortunately, when he tried to open the door, it became stuck, and the young lad spent another ten minutes inside while several gentlemen worked to pry the door open. The group had reportedly been dining at a nearby restaurant when they heard the commotion. A bystander recorded a two-minute-forty-six-second-long video of the ordeal, which has since gone viral on social media.
Launderette owner Hazmal Hassan told New Straits Times that the boy’s father has since called him to say that he will pay for any necessary repairs, after those rescuing the boys had to break the machine’s glass. Hazmal explained that the machine’s door will lock automatically when closed with coins inserted, or if someone presses the “start” button.
“I don’t know how it happened but a boy’s life was at stake,” he told the daily, adding the incident set him back RM3,000 (US$750) in losses.
He added that the boy was lucky as the machine failed to start possibly because it was overloaded.
He has now lodged a police report and hopes the authorities will conduct an investigation into the “life-threatening” incident.
