Stuck: A fireman trying to free Muhammad’s leg from the toilet hole at his flat in River Road, near George Town:-

GEORGE TOWN: A four-year-old boy endured almost two hours of excruciating pain after his right leg became stuck in the hole of a squat toilet at a flat in River Road near here.

Muhammad Iskandar Hakimi Mohd Azrul’s grandmother brought him to the toilet to wash up when he slipped and one of his leg became lodged in the toilet hole at about 10am yesterday.

Firemen summoned to the scene had to break the toilet bowl and the cement floor around it before they could free the boy at about 11.40am.

Muhammad’s grandmother Salbiah Ariffin, 61, said the boy had earlier complained of constipation and soiled his diapers.

She brought him to the toilet to wash up and that was when the incident happened.

“I was stunned and felt so helpless when I saw my grandson grimacing in pain. I immediately asked for help from neighbours and called the fire department,” she said at their rented unit.

Throughout the rescue attempt, firemen and neighbours kept soothing and encouraging the boy, who was shocked and frightened.

Perak Road fire station officer-in-charge Yaakob Abdul Aziz said they had to cut off the sewage pipe of the unit below in order to free the boy.

“We had exhausted all other means of rescuing him, including smashing the toilet bowl and the floor, but to no avail.

“In the end, we decided to cut off the sewage pipe to free the boy’s leg without injuring him.

“Once we saw his leg, we applied oil around it and pushed it up from below,” he explained.

Yaakob said they received a distress call at 10.19am and arrived at the scene five minutes later.

Fireman N. Jayashankar said the boy would be sent to Penang Hospital for a scan for fear of a suspected fracture.

“His leg was trapped for a long time and we fear there could be an injury,” he said.

Salbiah said they would replace the squat toilet with a sitting toilet.

– The Star