Bangkok blast: Woman still traumatised over loss of husband, daughter

A woman who lost her husband and daughter in the Bangkok bomb blast on Monday night, is in a state of trauma and unable to come to terms with her loss.

In the explosion, 33-year-old Neoh Yee Ling's husband, Lee Tze Siang, 35, and their daughter, Jing Xuan, four, were killed at the Ratchaprasong junction near the Erawan Shrine and shopping centres in the Thai capital.

Also killed were Yee Ling's mother, Lim Siew Gaik, 49, and brother, Neoh Jai Jun, 20.

Tze Siang's younger brother, businessman Tze Tung, 31, said his sister-in-law, who was expected to deliver her third child in November, suffered hearing loss due to ear injury sustained in the blast.

"She is still grieving and in shock after losing four members of her family. (As such) I hope the media gives space to my sister-in-law.

"Furthermore, we are currently busy making funeral arrangements," he told reporters after receiving Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Mah Siew Kiong here Thursday.

Mah, who is also Gerakan president, was present at Yee Ling's house in Taman Cengal here to pay final respects to Tze Siang and Jing Xuan.

Tze Tung said Yee Ling would seek treatment for her ear injury at a hospital in the state after the funeral of Tze Siang and Jing Xuan at the Sungai Lembu Chinese Cemetary in Bukit Mertajam, near here Friday.

He said he was in Hatyai, Thailand during the incident, as he was working there, adding that he found out about the incident from family members in Butterworth.

"After the explosion, when my sister-in-law (Yee Ling) failed to contact her husband, she contacted the family in Butterworth, before they informed me.

"According to my sister-in-law, she and the other members of the family were praying at the temple before a powerful explosion ripped the area, causing the situation to became chaotic.

"Yee Ling tried to look for her husband and daughter but failed."

He said Yee Ling was warded at a hospital and only met her father (Neoh Hock Guan) while undergoing treatment.

"She tried to locate the other members of her family before being told they were killed (in the blast)," he added.

As soon as he was informed about the incident, Tze Tung flew to Bangkok where he identified the bodies of Tze Siang and Jing Xuan at the hospital as his sister-in-law was in a state of confusion and grief.

"I flew back from Bangkok with Yee Ling, accompanying the four bodies yesterday and arrived at the Penang International Airport," he said, adding that another of Yee Ling's child, Jian Hen, six, was still in a confused state.

Apart from the four Malaysian casualities, three others were injured in the explosion at 7pm (8pm Malaysian time).

A total of 20 people were killed and 123 others injured in the explosion, described as the worst case of violence in Bangkok over the past several months.