Sad news today as reported in the Malay-language outlet, Sinar Harian — a 21-year-old man’s first day on the job ended tragically after he fell from a tractor and was subsequently killed by the machine’s milling blades in Kedah, northern Malaysia.
Alif Riezman Azhar had just begun his morning shift when his boss noticed that a tractor had become stationary in the middle of a rice paddy field in Kampung Sinaran Jaya, at 11:30am. Initially believing that it had only stalled, he noticed that Alif was not on the machine.
“At first I thought he went home, or went to buy food, and was annoyed.”
However, when Azli Che Ahmad approached the vehicle, he saw the full horror of the situation.
About 12 meters from the tractor was the victim’s body, motionless and covered in a blanket of straw. He lay on his back, with severe and catastrophic injuries to both his head and his body. Alif had only just begun working for his 40-year-old employer, cleaning the rice fields of hay after the grains had been harvested.
His employer called him hardworking, saying he worked for several individuals in the area, making between RM100 – RM150 (US$25-36) per day. He would often stay at a nearby friend’s house, so as to shorten his commute between the various fields he worked on, and home.
Police were called shortly after the body was discovered, with the Kubang Pasu town Police Chief confirming that a victim had indeed fallen off his tractor, become tangled its blades, and died.
Stay safe, folks.
