Tributes for Dutch expat in S'pore

Members of the Dutch community here have paid tribute to a family of three from the Netherlands who were on board Flight MH17 when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine.

Mr Emile van Muijlwijk had been working as a logistics manager in Singapore, where he was believed to be returning to, along with his Indonesian wife Vickiline Kardia and young daughter Adinda.

They were among the 283 passengers and 15 crew members killed in the Malaysian Airlines flight on July 17.

People posted comments expressing their grief and shock on the Facebook page of Hollandse FC, an expatriate football team in Singapore to which Mr van Muijlwijk belonged.

Teammates described him as a "beloved player" and "good friend". One post on the page read: "No more #16 on the left wing, three empty chairs during the after parties."

Friends who left their condolences - many written in Dutch - said the family were "cheerful" and "optimistic".

Members of the Hollandse School, where their daughter Adinda studied, also conveyed their grief in an obituary in The Straits Times yesterday.

"Adinda van Muijlwijk was a much loved student of the Hollandse School in Singapore," it read. "We will dearly miss her presence at school and in class."

Ms Rebecca de Groot, the interim principal of the Dutch school in Bukit Timah, also wrote on the school website that the school is deeply saddened and shocked by the family's death.

In her post, written in Dutch, she said the school is planning to hold a commemorative event to remember the family and provide support for the school community.

The school will also set  aside a location on its premises for people to share their memories of the family, she added.

This article was first published on July 27 2014.
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