KLUANG: Family members of the elderly couple who passed away after consuming pufferfish are urging the authorities to expedite the investigation into their deaths.
The couple's daughter, Ng Ai Lee, 51, said that those responsible for the death of her parents should have actions taken against them under the Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority Act 1972 and the Food Act 1983.
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"I also hope that the government could strengthen the enforcement of the relevant laws to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
"They should also further enhance public awareness on this matter so that this will not happen to other families in the future," she told a press conference at her parents' house here in Kampung Chamek.
Ai Lee said that her father, Ng Chuan Sing @ Eng Kuai Sin, 84, passed away at 6.10am on Saturday (April 8), about two days after he was transferred from the intensive care unit (ICU) to a normal ward.
"My father woke up from a coma about eight days after the incident. Unfortunately, his condition later worsened and he was sedated the following day.
"About two days ago, his condition improved and he was moved to a normal ward. I visited him the evening before he passed away and he looked fine at that time.
"He was conscious and was able to talk to me as usual. We really did not expect him to pass away the next day," she said, adding that according to the hospital, the cause of death was pulmonary embolism.
Asked if the family has gotten an apology from the fishmonger who sold the fish to her parents, she said that he has yet to come forward.
"We welcome the fishmonger to come and pay his last respect to my father. We trust that if he is at fault, the government will bring him to court.
"It is not for us to judge or for the public to judge," she said.
Her father's death came just two weeks after her 83-year-old mother, Lim Siew Guan, passed away on March 25.
Her mother’s death was identified as food poisoning with neurological manifestations resulting in respiratory failure and irregular heart rate, possibly due to toxin ingestion.
The couple had purchased the fish unknowingly from a fishmonger on March 25.
Lim then fried the fish for lunch on the same day and began experiencing breathing difficulties and shivers while her husband started showing similar symptoms about an hour later.
