Woman who lost 3 sons in tahfiz fire does not plan to sue school

Single mother Mashawani Mohamed Shahid says seeking action against the school will not bring her sons back to life.

Mashawani-Mohamed-Shahid-tahfiz-darul-quran-1 AMPANG: The mother of three boys killed in the Sept 14 Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school fire does not want to pursue legal action against the management but she called for just punishment of those who caused the blaze.

Mashawani Mohamed Shahid, 37, a single mother, said she was resigned to the loss, and taking action against the school management would not bring her sons back to life.

“I do not plan to take legal action as I don’t blame them (school management),” she told reporters after receiving aid from a delegation of DAP and Amanah members at the home of her older sister in Lembah TTDI here today.

Mashawani’s sons Muhammad Syafiq Haikal, 13, Muhammad Hafiz Iskandar, 12, and Muhammad Harris Ikhwan, 10, died in the fire which killed 21 students and two teachers of the school.

The fire and rescue department has confirmed arson as the cause of the fire while the police have arrested seven suspects, aged 11 to 18.

The suspects could be charged with murder and causing mischief but lawyers have ruled out the death penalty if they are convicted as they are underaged.

Mashawani, a part-time trader who has another two sons and a daughter, said she hoped those found guilty of the arson would be given a just punishment.

She also hoped the authorities concerned would take precautionary measures to correct the shortcomings in educational institutions in the country.

“I can’t do anything myself, my sons are gone. But the authorities should act because this is not the first time such an incident happened,” she said.

Statistics from the fire and rescue department in the past two years showed 211 cases of fire occurred at tahfiz schools in the country.

Mashawani also said she had not been contacted by the families of the seven suspects under detention.

“It’s not necessary for me to meet them…life must go on, no children would want to see their mother being sad,” she added.

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