The STar, Wednesday 19 august 2015

2 nation
Reports by ZUHRIN AZAM AHMAD, AKIL YUNUS, VICTORIA BROWN, LO TERN CHERN and RYANNESH PANICKER

PM condemns bombing
Incident a heinous act on innocent civilians, says Najib
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has
strongly condemned the perpetrators behind the bombing incident in central Bangkok.
In his tweet yesterday, Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak
said the incident was a heinous
act as the explosion had claimed
the lives of innocent people,
including Malaysians.
Malaysia condemns the heinous act on innocent civilians in
Bangkok which claimed the lives
of two Malaysians and others. My
thoughts and prayers are with
their families, he said through
his Twitter account.
Najib said he had called Thai
Prime Minister Prayut Chanocha.
He gave his assurance that
Thai authorities shall ensure that
the perpetrators are punished,
he added.
At press time, four Malaysians
have been confirmed killed and
one classified as missing. Three
Malaysians were also injured.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime
Minister and Home Minister
Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid
Hamidi said the Government had
received information that the
bombing might have some links

Duty calls: najib arriving to officiate the seminar organised by Institute Wasatiyyah Malaysia in Putrajaya. the PM
tweeted yesterday that the bombing in Bangkok was a heinous act.

with international terrorist

groups.
This information, he said, was
obtained from the Thai police,
Aseanapol and the Interpol.

It says that maybe some elements with links with international terrorist groups were
involved. We cannot confirm this
because the Thai authorities are

still investigating, he said after

chairing the Cabinet Committee
on Foreign Workers and Illegal
Immigrants meeting here yesterday.

I thought it was kids playing with fireworks

BANGKOK: It started off with a loud bang and
ended with a sea of dead bodies, Malaysian
tourist Tan Rui Hun said.
The 27-year-old was one of the many visitors to the Erawan Shrine in the Thai capital
on Monday when a bomb on a motorcycle
exploded, killing 22 people, including eight
foreigners.
From the corner of my left eye, I saw a
spark, but thought it was just kids playing with
fireworks. Suddenly, I noticed my eyesight
getting blurry. It felt like blood which had
spattered from others, Rui Hun said from his
bed at the Hua Chiew hospital here yesterday.
Rui Hun, a businessman from Pasir Mas,
Kelantan, was in Bangkok on holiday with his
wife Teo Khaei Ling, 29, and his mother-inlaw Tan Kim Siok, 50.
They had arrived here on Saturday and
were supposed to have returned home yesterday.

AKIL YUNUS
in Bangkok
When I realised that it was actually an
explosion, I rushed to search for my wife and
mother-in-law, he added.
The family of three had visited the holy
shrine located in the popular tourist district
just a day earlier, but never expected that a
scary experience like this would await them
the second time around.
After the explosion, I was injured and my
wife helped me to the Grand Hyatt Hotel next
door.
I did not realise I had bad injuries to my
arms and legs until the hotel staff helped to
clean my wounds, said Rui Hun.

Although still very weak after undergoing a

five-hour operation to remove blast fragments from his body, he was in good spirits
and even managed a thumbs up for the cameras.
Teo, who was not very far from her husband when the blast occurred, said her ears
were still ringing from the loud explosion.
I still cannot hear properly, but I dont
think it is anything serious. Theirs is more
serious, she said, referring to her husbands
and mothers injuries.
Kim Siok suffered slight wounds to her left
temple and required three stitches.
She was some distance away from her
daughter and son-in-law, but was still left
shaken by the impact of the blast.
I dont remember much as Im still in
shock. All I know was that I felt pain on my
head, she said when met outside the operation theatre at the hospital.

Kim Siok: I felt pain on the left side of my

forehead.

Malaysian tourist
escapes with
just three stitches
BANGKOK: Malaysian tourist Tan Kim Siok
was standing behind her son-in-law at an
intersection near Erawan Shrine when
Mondays blast occurred. Luckily, both survived.
Kim Siok, 50, received three stitches to her
forehead as a result but her son-in-law Tan
Rui Hun suffered more serious injuries to his
left shoulder and shin.
He had to undergo operation to remove
fragments from the explosion.
I was shocked when it happened. I just
quickly ran to find a place to hide, Kim Siok
told reporters when met at the Hua Chiew
hospital where her son-in-law is warded.
I cannot remember much. All I know is
that I felt pain on the left side of my forehead, she added.
The two, together with Rui Huns wife, were
walking to a nearby Bangkok Mass Transit
System (BTS) train station at about 7pm when
they felt the blast.
Rui Huns wife escaped unhurt.