Gone too soon: Jian Han (far right) looking at the coffins of his father and sister at his home in Butterworth.
PHOTO: The Star/ANN
BUTTERWORTH - Still dazed and in shock, Bangkok Erawan Shrine bombing survivor Neoh Ee Ling, who is five months' pregnant, could not bring herself to be present for the arrival of the bodies of her husband and daughter.
The bodies of her husband Lee Tze Siang, 35, and four-year-old daughter Jiang Xuan arrived at their home at Taman Cengal here at about 1.50am yesterday.
Tze Siang's brother Tze Dung, 31, said Ee Ling, 33, was still distraught following the deaths of her husband, daughter, mother Lim Saw Gek, 49, and brother Jai Jun, 20, all in one day.
Ee Ling's father Hock Guan, 55, survived with minor injuries.
Tze Dung said Ee Ling also sustained injuries in her ear in the blast and is still having hearing difficulties.
He said Ee Ling had told him that the family was praying at the shrine before a loud explosion took place.
"Ee Ling was rushed to a hospital in Bangkok and she only managed to find her father and not the others," Tze Dung said at the house yesterday.
He said he was working in Haadyai when the blast occurred and took a flight to Bangkok to look for his relatives at the hospital.
Tze Dung said he identified his brother's body and that of Jing Xuan at the hospital as Yee Ling was too distraught to do so.
Tze Dung and Ee Ling accompanied Tze Siang's and Jing Xuan's caskets on the flight from Bangkok to Penang.
Seen waiting at the house was Jing Xuan's six-year-old brother Jian Han, Tze Siang's 61-year-old father Tiang Heng, family members and close friends.
Tze Dung said his nephew Jian Han was still confused and puzzled about was going on around him.
"He keeps asking for his father and sister, but we try to distract him," he said, adding that Jian Han would take part in the last rites for his father and sister.
The father and daughter would be cremated at the Berapit Crematorium today. The cortege will leave the house at 10am.
Gerakan president and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Mah Siew Keong visited the victims' families yesterday.
Mah, who also visited the victims' house in Taman Dedap, handed over RM1,000 each to the families of the bomb blast victims.
Bangkok blast: Remains of victims return home
-
Open gallery
With his left arm still bearing burn scars and his right foot in a bandage, Mr Ng Su Teck came out of hospital yesterday morning to bid a final farewell to his wife, Ms Melisa Liu Rui Chun.
-
Open gallery
Limping towards the hearse carrying her coffin, Mr Ng, 35, gently placed his hand with his silver wedding band on it as her family members prepared to leave for a private church funeral at about 11am.
-
Open gallery
Moments later, he became distraught and had to be consoled by close friends.
-
Open gallery
Ms Liu, 34, an employee at AXA Singapore, was killed on the spot in the deadly bomb explosion at the popular Erawan Shrine in central Bangkok last Monday evening.
-
Open gallery
Mr Ng sustained burns and was cut by glass shards on his right leg. His hearing was also affected.
-
Open gallery
The final rites for Ms Liu began at around 10am, when family members, led by a Catholic priest, gathered to sing hymns.
-
Open gallery
Ms Eleena Chew, 34, a close friend of Ms Liu's for more than 20 years, described her as "easy-going, always cheerful and rarely had a temper".
-
Open gallery
Mr Ng Su Teck with his wife, Ms Melisa Liu.
-
Open gallery
Lim Jian Han looking at the coffins of his father and sister at his home in Butterworth.
-
Open gallery
Bangkok Erawan Shrine bombing survivor Neoh Ee Ling, who is five months' pregnant, could not bring herself to be present for the arrival of the bodies of her husband and daughter.
-
Open gallery
She was still distraught following the deaths of her husband, daughter, mother and brother.
-
Open gallery
Her son, Lee Jian Han, was still confused and puzzled about was going on around him, and family members say they have tried to distract him when he asked for his father and sister.
-
Open gallery
Mr Ng Su Teck, whose wife Melisa Liu Rui Chun was killed in the blast, in hospital in Bangkok.
-
Open gallery
It is a yearly affair for the Ong siblings to visit Bangkok and offer their prayers at the downtown Erawan shrine.
-
Open gallery
Ms Betty Ong, 69, a semi-retired administrative executive, was there with her sister Jane, 59, brother Wesley, 53, and his wife Jennifer, 41.
-
Open gallery
Ms Ong said there were two blasts, the second very loud. All four suffered partial hearing loss.
-
Open gallery
"We are very lucky to be alive," said Ms Ong, who needed six stitches on her left thigh and has since been discharged.
-
Open gallery
Her siblings' injuries were more serious. Her sister Jane needed two operations, one to remove shrapnel in her leg and another last night to remove the fragments in her forehead.
-
Open gallery
-
Open gallery
The younger Ms Ong became emotional when she recalled the traumatic event: "There was this blinding light and the next moment when I opened my eyes, my spectacles had been blown off by the impact. I felt as if my skin was burning off."
-
Open gallery
"I try to be positive but the images keep coming back to me. There were so many dead bodies. It's a very cruel thing. Very inhuman thing to do."
-
Open gallery
The Singapore Embassy has engaged an interpreter to assist the Ongs at the hospital.
-
Open gallery
Madam Ong said that the Thais had been very helpful, and the family even received a visit from Thai PM Prayuth Chan-ocha, who gave them 5,000 baht (S$297) each to tide them over.
-
Open gallery
It was a solemn ceremony as the bodies of two victims killed in the Bangkok bomb blast returned home.
-
Open gallery
The bodies of Lee Tze Siang, 35, and his four-year-old daughter, Lee Jing Xuan, arrived at their home in Butterworth, Penang.
-
Open gallery
The two bodies arrived in separate white vans at about 1.50pm.
-
Open gallery
Present at the house when the caskets arrived was Tze Siang's six-year-old son, Lee Jian Han.
-
Open gallery
Close friends and family members, including Tze Siang's father Lee Tiang Heng, 61, were also there.
-
Open gallery
When six-year-old Lee Jian Han saw a photograph of his father on the evening news, he had repeatedly asked his grandparents why he was on TV.
-
Open gallery
The family from Taman Dedap, Butterworth, had been on holiday in Bangkok when the bombing occurred. 5 members of the family died.
-
Open gallery
It was a sombre homecoming for Neoh Ee Ling, who had arrived here on a holiday in a joyful mood but returned home under tragic circumstances.
-
Open gallery
The 33-year-old flew home with the remains of four family members killed in Monday’s deadly bombing at the Erawan shrine.
-
Open gallery
A family member of Neoh Hock Guan, a survivor of Monday's blast in Bangkok, pays her last respects to his wife and son who were killed in the attack.
-
Open gallery
Neo Ee Ling and her father, Neoh Hock Guan, 55, sustained minor injuries in the blast.
-
Open gallery
Four Malaysians have been confirmed as casualties of the incident, while a fifth, Lim Su See, is believed killed.
-
Open gallery
The bomb went off near the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, killing 20 people and injuring more than 120.
-
Open gallery
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican who visited the family said Malaysia strongly criticised the bombing.
-
Open gallery
Family members of Neoh Hock Guan, a survivor of Monday's blast in Bangkok, look at the coffins of his wife and son who were killed in the attack.