Son not aware of tragedy
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.
His grandparents did not answer him. Instead, his grandmother Tan Soo Nyim, 58, burst into tears while his grandfather Lee Tiang Heng remained stony-faced.
Nobody could bring themselves to tell Jian Han that his father Lee Tze Siang, 35, had been killed in a bomb attack in Bangkok together with his four-year-old sister, Jing Xuan, and three other family members – his maternal grandmother Lim Saw Gaik, 49, and his uncle Neoh Jai Jun, 20.
Both his mother Neoh Ee Ling, 33, who is five months pregnant, and her father Hock Guan, 55, survived the blast. His grandaunt Lim Su See, 52, remains missing and is presumed killed.
The family from Taman Dedap, Butterworth, had been on holiday in Bangkok when the bombing occurred.
Tiang Heng said all they could tell his grandson was that his mother was okay and coming home.
“It was hard to accept when I got the news but a fact is a fact. We will keep the news of my son’s and granddaughter’s deaths a secret. We don’t know how to tell my grandson,” said the visibly distraught 51-year-old farmer.
Tiang Heng said his son had asked him to take care of Jian Han while he was away in Bangkok to perform prayers and buy goods for his clothing business.
“He had told me that his son could not follow them to Bangkok as he had to attend kindergarten,” he said.