PETALING JAYA: The three university students who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in September 2020 in a sensational case in Butterworth, Penang, weren’t having a nap inside the car with the engine running.

According to Malay daily Sinar Plus, the sole survivor of the incident, 22-year-old Nor Aqilah Mohd Safwan was quoted in a TikTok posting as saying that the four victims weren’t having a nap, but merely stopped to have a meal at a petrol station.

“First of all, we did not sleep. Just stopping awhile to buy food and after entering the car, we couldn’t remember anything.

“We just want to stop for a while for food. We weren’t tired,” she was quoted as saying.

Recounting the incident in September 2020, Nor Aqilah said her twin sister Nor Adilah, who was the driver, had decided to stay in the car while the other three individuals had stepped out to buy refreshments at the petrol station.

Aqilah said after they bought their food, they then gathered at the car and no one fell asleep, because they wanted to eat instead.

Aqilah said during the unfortunate incident, she dreamt about her twin sister Nor Adilah.

“The moment I opened my eyes, I realized that I was in the hospital,” she said, adding that she was looking for her sister after being conscious.

Aqilah said she only realized that her twin sister and two friends had died, after her father explained the matter to her.

Hailing from Kedah, the students were earlier found unconscious in an MPV parked at a petrol station in Sama Gagah, next to the North– South Expressway, early Sept 17, 2020.

Central Seberang Prai OCPD Asst Comm Shafee Abd Samad said the four of them, all awaiting their convocation from the same college, were heading home to Kedah after an outing at Pulau Jerejak in Penang earlier.

“Some of them went to buy food at the station. They returned to the car after getting the food and did not come out again,” he said.

ACP Shafee said a check by a technician found leakage in the car’s exhaust, resulting in engine emissions being drawn into the cabin as the vehicle was stationary.

The leaked engine emissions into the cabin had caused the victims to be unconscious, added ACP Shafee.