'He still waits for papa': Two months on, family of hit-and-run victim still seeks justice

SHAH ALAM – The youngest child of the late Saiful Adli Azmi, 42, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident along Lebuh Saujana, Putrajaya in April, has still not been able to accept the fact that his father is gone forever.

The five-year-old continues to expect the late Saiful Adli to return home from work as usual, leaving family members in tears every time they see him behave this way.

The victim's brother, Shazni Azmi, 39, said the loss of the late Saiful Adli has left a deep impact not only on his wife but also on his three children, who are still struggling to come to terms with the loss of their loved one.

"His youngest child really cannot accept it yet - sometimes he even stands at the gate, waiting for his papa to come home.

"At bedtime, he still calls out for papa to pat him the way his father used to. Every time we see him like that, it really breaks our hearts," he said when met in Section 18 here on Wednesday.

Elaborating further, Shazni said the situation has left the family grieving and determined to seek justice following the death of the late Saiful Adli.

According to Shazni, the family is still awaiting progress on the investigation as the individual believed to be involved in the accident has yet to be identified.

He said the family was also disappointed to learn that closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the scene was not clear enough to help identify the registration number of the vehicle involved.

"We just want the truth and justice for arwah because more than two months have passed and the culprit still has not been traced.

"We hope the individual involved will come forward to the police station to cooperate if they are not at fault," he said.

He said the family has also engaged a lawyer and has not ruled out taking legal action should the investigation continue to drag on without progress.

Meanwhile, he said, the late Saiful Adli's wife, who is also a civil servant, is continuing with life as usual to raise their three children, though the loss of the family's breadwinner has posed a great trial for the whole family.

Saiful Adli was riding his motorcycle home to Putrajaya after finishing his fried banana business in Section 18 when the tragedy strikes.

More tragically, the victim had just undergone heart treatment and had returned for a week-long Raya holiday at his wife's hometown in Kota Belud, Sabah.

Initial police investigations, following a report of the incident at about 11.50pm on Apr 2, found that a car had swerved to enter a right junction before hitting the victim.

The collision caused the victim to fall onto a road divider and he was rushed to Hospital Putrajaya for treatment but was confirmed dead while en route.