KULAI: Moh Halmi Haroon was unusually quiet this past week after telling family members about his intention to sell his high-powered motorcycle which he rode for almost two years.
The 53-year-old contractor's BMW S1000 RR was up for sale on the mudah.my website and there were no takers until a friend told him about a potential buyer in Johor Baru.
Riding on the same motorcycle he intended to sell, he set out from his Taman Lim Poon home in Batu Pahat today to meet his friend in Johor Baru, but he never made it to his destination.
He was killed when he was flung into the air and landed on the slow lane of Km26.9 of the North-south expressway.
His mangled body was crushed by several oncoming vehicles in a gruesome incident at about 9.30am.
Halmui's son, Mohd Syazwan, 28, said his father was unlike his cheerful self prior to his death and he wondered if it had anything to do with his plan to sell his motorcycle, which was one of two he owned.
"He left the family home in Taman Lim Poon, Batu Pahat today and was heading to Johor Baru to meet a friend who was helping in the sale of his bike.
"He had been talking about selling the bike for a week. He told us about putting up for sale on mudah.my," said Halmi, who works in his father's contractor company.
He said the family received a call from police about 30 minutes after the crash occured, and his mother Julia Omar, 53, and his four other siblings rushed to Kulai.
It was not long till they saw photos and a video taken of their father's remains in the gruesome expressway incident.
Halmi's daughter Aliya, 20, pleaded with the public to stop uploading the photos out of respect for their father.
"I hope the photos could be taken off from any social media platform as it is too personal for the family," she said.
Halmi's biker friend Jaafar Sup, 51, said he was shocked to find out about Halmi's death through a riders’ WhatsApp group.
"We later confirmed it and about 20 of us decided to gather at the mortuary to pay our last respects.
"He was friendly and caring. He's been riding for 20 years and he was close to many of us in the group," he said.
Meanwhile, Kulai district police chief Superintendant Razak Md Said said initial checks showed that Halmi tried to evade collision with a car which was on the fast lane.
He said the victim, however, crashed into the rear of the car and was flung into the air before landing on the left lane.
"Several oncoming vehicles, which we are still identifying, ran over the victim," said Razak, adding that Halmi's remains were recovered by police and sent to the Temenggong Seri Maharaja Tun Ibrahim Hospital, Kulai.
Halmi's family later claimed his remains from the hospital mortuary. He is expected to be buried at the Bukit Cermai Muslim cemetery in Batu Pahat later today.