Mother of two fears snake infested home will claim another life - The Star

By Ivan Loh

IPOH: Every day A. Palanimal’s family watch in fear as the snakes slither in and out of their home at the Tamil settlement in Buntong here.

“At times, the snakes are seen in the toilet. Sometimes, they sleep on a ceiling bar in our bedroom,” said the 38-year-old housewife, who now seeks refuge at a neighbour’s house for fear that they would attack her family - again.

The mother of two children said her husband R. Arumugam, 42, died on Friday after being bitten by what was believed to be a king cobra a week earlier.

Sadly missed: (From left) Palanimal, Kalaivani and Thivanantham praying at an altar with R. Arumugam’s picture in their family’s house in Buntong. Arumugam died after he was bitten by a snake.

Palanimal said that at about 8pm on Nov 12 her husband was about to feed the family dog when the snake bit him.

“It was the second time in three months that a snake attacked him, she said, recalling that her husband survived the first attack.

“I am scared to go back to that house now,” she said, when met at her temporary home in the village yesterday.

“I am afraid my children - Thivananthan, 16, and Kalaivani, three - will be harmed.”

Palanimal claimed that the snakes first appeared three years ago, adding that 10 to 12 snakes, including some poisonous types, could be seen slithering daily around the compound of her house.

She added that her late husband had made several complaints to the Ipoh City Council to clear the surrounding areas that were like a “forest in the middle of the city.”

Palanimal’s family walking through the undergrowth surrounding their house in Buntong.

“I just want the city council to come and clean up the place so that the snakes will not come into my home again,” she sobbed. Meanwhile, Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran said he would discuss with the family about taking legal action against the city council.

“The council could have just brought in bulldozers and tractors to clear up the bushes when the complaint was made,” he said, alleging that Palanimal’s family had lost their sole breadwinner because of the council’s inaction.