Wong You Hock. -Starpic
BUKIT MERTAJAM: A man not only lost his wife, but also his sister and sister-in-law in the incident where a tour van crashed at KM4.8 Jalan Genting Highlands in Pahang on Wednesday (Feb 8).
Wong You Hook, 62, said his wife, Ang Meng Hoong, also 62, his sister, Wong Ah Mooi @ Wong Seh Mooi, 83, and his sister-in-law, Lee Moy, 67, were among the seven victims who perished.
"I am still saddened by the loss of all three, in addition to three or four others who died as they were also close friends of my family. All of them initially did not plan the vacation in Genting Highlands, but the late Lee Moy had returned from work in Johor Bahru to her village to celebrate Chinese New Year and made a last-minute decision to go there (Genting)" he told reporters here on Thursday (Feb 9).
He said in the end, the group, including his three family members, rented a tour van and left at 6am on Tuesday and were supposed to return on Wednesday.
Wong, who lives in Machang Bubok, said, "From the time I heard the news until now, I can't think of anything else. There is a lot of heartache. After all, not one, but three of them (were killed) at once, it hurts a lot," he said, choking back tears several times.
Ah Mooi's son, Lim Nyoh Chin, 55, said his mother's passing was very difficult for the family to accept as the deceased was very healthy and active at 83 years old.
"Always smiling, she enjoyed the company of others. She may be old but she liked visiting interesting places. Just last month, she went to the Lost World of Tambun (Perak) with her grandchildren," he said.
According to Lim, the families of the accident victims were informed that the post-mortem would be completed by this evening and that the bodies would be brought home tonight.
Meanwhile, Cindy, the younger sister of the deceased van driver, Wong Choun Chiet, 49, said her family was still shocked at the loss of her eldest brother who was a responsible and kind-hearted person.
"Choun Chiet, who lived with his sister in Seberang Jaya, had been a tour van driver taking tourists around for several companies," Cindy said, adding that Wong had been accident-free since driving for over 10 years.
In the Feb 8 accident at about 1.15pm, the tour van was on its way from Genting Highlands returning to Penang.
Besides the four victims, three others who died were Foong Ah Lan, 67; Seow Mee Tin, 72; and Chang Them Kong, 70, while seven more injured victims are receiving treatment in hospital. – Bernama
