DALAT: A 47-year-old man was killed on the spot after he was hit by the falling sago palm tree yesterday morning. In that fatal incident, the deceased known as Sia Yuk Kwong was cutting or felling down the sago tree alone at a land located at Kilometre 3 of Oya-Dalat Road.
Dalat District Police chief DSP Roslan Bin Leman, who confirmed the case revealed that the police received a call from a public member regarding the incident at about 9.45am.
“It happened near the junction to the Chinese Cemetery there. The victim was a self-employed local Chinese. He was believed to be alone during that tragic event,’ he said. He added that the deceased was believed to fall on the ground after cutting the about 10 metre-tall sago tree as an effort to go to the safer ground. “While the tree was falling, he might have fallen on the ground and was believed trying to look for a safer spot, but was unfortunately hit by the sago palm that he cut,” he added.
Roslan pointed that due to the impact of the falling tree, the deceased sustained severe head injuries. The motionless body of the married middle aged man was taken to Dalat District Hospital in a police vehicle for further examination. He disclosed that the exact cause of the incident is yet to be determined and the case is under the police investigation.
This case is believed to be the first of its kind to happen in Dalat which is famous for being the biggest sago flour producer of the nation and maybe in the whole world. Sago palm or locally known as Balau is very close to the hearts of the locals and had been the striving cash crop for over a century for the people of this progressive district.
