Grieving Malaysian Parents' Tribute To Their 'Christmas Angel'

By Neville D'Cruz MELBOURNE, Dec 23 (Bernama) -- A grieving Malaysian father has recalled the touching moment when his six-year-old son kissed him twice and looked into his eyes and said: "Daddy I love you, I'll love you forever and ever." It was last Tuesday night and just hours before Dr Balan Revin was due to fly home to Malaysia and leave his six-year-old son, Akshaaye Revin, who would celebrate his first Australian Christmas in Sydney with his mum and cousins. That was the final moment Dr Balan had with his only son, the night before Akshaaye was killed outside Carlingford Public School, last Wednesday morning. Dr Balan told The Daily Telegraph crime reporter Clementine Cuneo that Akshaaye was an affectionate and gentle boy, who brought immeasurable love and happiness into his parents' lives. "The last six years since we had Akshaaye had been the very best," Dr Balan said. Ong Fung Yin was holding her son Akshaaye's hand as she walked her niece, Zoe Stephen, 6, to school for her last day of the year. Zoe's younger sister Ellie was with them and, after the school drop-off, Ong said she planned to take Akshaaye and Ellie to play at a nearby park. "Akshaaye was on my right side, and I was holding his hand. Ellie was just a little bit ahead of us and then Zoe was in front of her, rushing because she was excited to get to school," Ong told the newspaper. Suddenly the group of four was struck by a Nissan SUV as they approached the school, killing Akshaaye and seriously injuring Ellie. "My leg was pinned under the car, but I somehow managed to pull it out ... I walked to the front of the car, and I saw Akshaaye, but I knew there was nothing I could do to save him," she said through tears. "I picked up Ellie, and I hugged her and I told her it was going to be all right. And then I went to Zoe and I asked her if she was OK." While Zoe was not injured, Ellie remains in Westmead Children's Hospital with a fractured pelvis, and isn't expected to walk for up to four months. Recuperating from a badly injured leg at her sister's home in Sydney on Sunday, Ong said she believed Akshaaye saved her life. "Akshaaye was originally on my left side, but Ellie had picked up a frangipani off the ground while we were walking ... just before we got to the school, she dropped it. So I let go of Akshaaye to pick it up, and somehow after that, he ended up on my right side," she said. "Because he was on my right, he took the brunt of the car, and not me. He saved my life." Police investigating the accident said it appeared that the driver was performing a three-point turn into a staff-only driveway, in Rickard Road, when she struck the group of four. Investigators said it was possible the driver accelerated instead of reversing, as she was manoeuvring the vehicle to drop her own two children at the school. Dr Balan and his wife told the newspaper they felt no ill-feeling towards the driver of the car, and begged her not to feel any guilt. "The last thing we want is for her to carry any pain or guilt. We only have love for her. Akshaaye isn't coming back, but she needs to live, and we don't want her to feel any blame," Ong said. As Dr Balan and Ong faced a sad Christmas without their boy, they took comfort in the belief he is an angel. "Darling Akshaaye, we truly believe that you have a bigger purpose, perhaps to be an angel now, watching over those of us who loved you from the shining stars above," his mother said in a tribute she penned her son. They held tight the handwritten Santa letter Akshaaye wrote when he arrived in Sydney last Saturday, insisting "I've been a good boy". "He was very keen for an iPad, but we told him not yet ... so he wanted a Nerf ball," Dr Balan said. -- BERNAMA