GERIK: A 32-year-old woman sustained severe injuries including fractured vertebrate after she was violently assaulted by her husband before she was dragged and thrown into a 10-metre-deep ravine last month.
Despite her severe injuries, the woman pulled all that was left of her to endure a nine-hour journey, crawling back up to the roadside before being found by a passerby.
Her motivation was her two young children.
The story of the woman's perseverance and determination to soldier on for the sake of her children was relayed by Muhammad Ridzuan Osman, 36, who was entrusted to transport the woman to her hometown in Kelantan after she was discharged from the Taiping Hospital.
According to Ridzuan, who is Murtadha Dakwah Centra Madad ambulance operations head, he was told by the woman that she suffered from fractured, shattered, and cracked spinal bones as well as other injuries during the incident.
"The woman said all that she could think at the time was her 5-month-old baby and her 6-year-old child.
"With that in mind, the woman said she used all of her strengths left in her to seek help.
"The woman said she took about nine hours to crawl back into the roadside," Ridzuan said.
It was reported that police on July 31 arrested a man for allegedly trying to kill his wife by pushing her into a ravine near Km31.2 of the East-West Highway between Gerik and Jeli.
District police chief Superintendent Zulkifli Mahmood said police received information regarding the incident at 2pm the same day through a phone call from a member of the public who reported discovering the woman in the area.
He said initial investigations revealed that the 39-year-old suspect had taken her from Kuala Lumpur to Perak, claiming that they were returning to their hometown about 5.30pm on July 26.
Zulkifli said that later during the journey, an argument ensued between the couple, which escalated to the victim being assaulted and threatened with death by her husband.
The suspect then pulled the victim out of the car, leading to a fight and struggle on the roadside. The suspect then pushed the victim into the ravine.