Melbourne crash kills daughter of ex-ISA detainee after truck strikes pole

The daughter of former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff has been identified as the victim of a fatal road accident in Melbourne.

Sayyida Nafeesa Zulfikar, 21, was killed on 9 December, 2025, after a large pole, dislodged during a truck crash, fell onto her vehicle while she was driving to work along the Hume Highway in Somerton.

According to Victoria Police, a truck travelling northbound collided with a red sedan at approximately 7.45am. The truck rolled and struck a roadside pole, which then fell onto a silver Honda travelling in the opposite direction.

Sayyida Nafeesa, who was behind the wheel of the Honda, died at the scene despite the efforts of paramedics.

She worked as an administrative and enrolment officer at MyCollege, an Islamic independent school in Dallas. In an official statement, the school mourned the loss, describing her as a professional known for her “compassion, integrity and warm presence”.

Her father, Zulfikar Shariff, who has lived in Australia since 2002, confirmed the news in a Facebook post later the same day. He described his daughter as “deeply caring and loving”, someone who was “smart, modest and respectful”.

“Alhamdulillah Nafeesa keeps her prayers,” he wrote. “She will go out of her way to help anyone in need.”

Zulfikar further shared that his daughter would be buried on 11 December at Preston Mosque in Melbourne following the Zuhr prayer.

In remarks to 9 News, he said, “She was just driving to work, thinking about what she’s going to do for work and how she is going to help others.”

The crash has triggered an investigation by Victoria Police's major crash unit. The truck driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to hospital. The occupants of the red sedan were unharmed.

The incident caused significant traffic delays as authorities closed off a major stretch of the Hume Highway between Austrak Drive and the Cooper Street–Somerton Road intersection. VicTraffic urged motorists to use alternative routes and allow extra travel time.

The incident has also drawn wider public interest due to Sayyida’s family background. 

Zulfikar, a former Singapore citizen, was detained under Singapore’s Internal Security Act (ISA) in 2016 over allegations of promoting extremist ideology online, including content said to support ISIS.

He was released from detention on 5 November, 2020, and subsequently renounced his Singapore citizenship in August that same year. 

His family strongly rejected the allegations at the time, issuing a public statement describing the accusations as selective and outdated, and criticising the government’s portrayal of his social media activity. They asserted that Zulfikar had opposed violence, did not support terrorist groups, and had been unfairly detained without trial.

Even though Zulfikar was released in 2020 after being assessed to no longer pose a security threat, his online activities have remained under scrutiny.

In November 2025, the Singapore Police Force ordered the disabling of social media accounts operated by Zulfikar under the name ‘The Inquiry’, citing content with seditious undertones.

His public mourning of Sayyida Nafeesa has been widely shared online, with many expressing condolences and recognising her positive impact within her community and workplace.

“She held the family together,” Zulfikar said. “Everyone keeps talking about how much of an impact she had in their lives.”