Last week, a Malaysian woman was travelling home to Johor Bahru from Kuala Lumpur via coach when she experienced every claustrophobe’s greatest nightmare.
In a Xiao Hong Shu post titled “I was trapped in the baggage compartment of a bus”, the 20-year-old, known as Yupin on IG, recounted the entire incident, detailing how she got caught in the horrifying situation.
She had arrived in JB on a coach operated by SC Southern Express, which left KL at 12.45pm that day.
Describing it as the “most terrifying time in her life”, she wrote: “It was raining heavily that evening, and my luggage got pushed all the way to the back [of the baggage compartment]. I had another bag with me, and the door closed behind me as I climbed in to retrieve my luggage.”
She initially believed that the bus attendant would notice that she was missing and come to her assistance, but then she heard the doors close. No one could hear her even as she used all her strength to bang the door of the compartment.
“Nobody would understand how I felt at that moment. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone either. It was really scary,” she added.
Yupin removed her mask, afraid that she would run out of oxygen now that she was trapped in a confined space. She then recalled she had received a booking confirmation for her ride on Whatsapp earlier that day, and quickly called the number.
Her call was answered by a female operator, who did not seem to understand what she was saying. She then told Yupin she would return her call before hanging up on her.
“I waited for two minutes before sending another message, but no one read it,” recounted Yupin.
Her messages to them read “help” and “cannot breathe”.
She continued: “The bus moved and stopped intermittently. When it stopped, I was left wondering if they were already notified that I was trapped inside and if they were going to open the door for me. But they were really slow… At that point, I began to feel faint, but I held on as I was afraid I wouldn’t wake up if I passed out.”
She then called the same number again. The call was answered by the same operator as before, who then handed the phone to another female staff member. Yupin noted that said staff spoke to her rudely, asking her loudly where she was, and how she ended up in the baggage compartment.
“I’m really mad thinking about it now,” she wrote.