MH17: Ashes of victim to be kept pending arrival of one-year-old son's remains

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 (Bernama) The ashes of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 victim Ng Shi Ing will be kept at the Xiao En Bereavement Centre pending the repatriation of the remains of her one-year-old son, Benjamin Lee Jian Han.

The centre's Corporate Communication and Marketing general manager, Sally Tan said the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) lecturer’s ashes would be kept with that of her younger sister, Elisabeth Ng Lyeti, which arrived on Friday.

She said the ashes of the two sisters would be kept at the centre pending the repatriation of Benjamin’s remains 

 "The family members informed us that the (ashes or remains of) the three of them will probably be sent to Muar, Johor, after the religious rituals conducted here," she told reporters.

The urn bearing the ashes of Shi Ing's remains, which was wrapped with the national flag, arrived at the centre at 9.41am.

It  was carried by her husband, Lt Commander Lee Vee Weng, a Royal Malaysian Navy officer based in Kota Kinabalu, into the centre, accompanied by two Buddhist priests.

About 10 family members and friends were present, while 50 staff of the centre and volunteers from the Young Buddhist Association (YBAM) lined the path leading to the place where the ashes would be kept.

Shi Ing, a lecturer in the Teaching of English as a second language (TESL)
at the USM's Faculty of Psychology and Education, was returning home with her son and sister after attending a conference at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.

The remains of 20 MH17 victims, comprising 11 passengers and nine crew members, arrived home in a special aircraft last Friday.

The second group, involving the remains of three victims, including Shi Ing's ashes, arrived today. - Bernama