JERANTUT: The elder sibling of drowning victim Azri Fahmi Bahiudin Zaiful Afandi rushed back to his hometown here after sitting for his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia(SPM) examination in Kuantan to attend his 14-year-old brother's funeral yesterday.
Form Five student Azri Aziran Zaiful Afindi, 17, earlier sat for his English Paper 1 and 2 examinations at the Malaysia Sports School in Gambang, Kuantan before travelling to Jerantut in the afternoon.
Azri Fahmi Bahiudin slipped and fell into Sungai Pahang while fishing from a raft house below the Jerantut Feri bridge about 5pm on Jan 4 before his remains were found at 7.45am yesterday.
Azri Aziran, who was met at the Kampung Mat Kilau Muslim burial ground, said the school made arrangements to bring him to Jerantut after completing his examinations at 1pm yesterday.
"I could not believe the incident involving my brother when informed through WhatsApp on Saturday evening. My aunt who lives in Kuantan decided to fetch and bring me to Jerantut. I am going to miss my brother....I lost a friend whom I always joke and argue with.
"I accept the loss because God loves him more. I would like to apologise on my late brother's behalf if he had committed any mistakes," he said.
Azri Aziran said following the incident, he will be sitting for his SPM examination as a temporary candidate at SMK Temin in Jerantut, which Azri Fahmi Bahiudin attended.
Meanwhile, Azri Fahmi Bahiudin's father Zaiful Afindi Hashim, 43, expressed his gratitude to all the rescue agencies, government bodies, non-governmental organisations and members of the public who had been providing assistance since the day his son went missing.
"I am relieved that my son's remains have been found and I have accepted the incident. The burial process went on smoothly," he said after the funeral was completed at 6.15pm yesterday.
Yesterday, it was reported that prior to the incident, Azri Fahmi Bahiudin had apologised to his school friends and shared cryptic messages about death on TikTok.