Ah Kok’s mum struggling to come to terms with loss

Tragic loss: A photo of the family celebrating Lim

BUTTERWORTH: Losing her son so tragically is just too much to bear for 80-year-old Yeoh Ah Keow.

“Every year, (Lim) Ah Kok will come back to Butterworth for the Chinese New Year reunion dinner with us.

“He never fails to bring us cheer,” she said at the funeral parlour in Mak Mandin yesterday.

She said after celebrating the re­­cent Chinese New Year, Lim return­ed to Subang Jaya on Jan 30, as his children needed to go to school.

The tragedy, believed to have been sparked by a short circuit, was a double shock because Lim was an organised person, said Yeoh.

“He is very particular and takes good care of his belongings. He was a company manager and is well-versed with engineering-related matters.

“Even his cars are well maintained. We don’t understand how the house could have had caught fire and how they could have gotten trapped in it,” lamented Yeoh.

Yeoh said Lim’s working experiences included a 10-year stint in Brunei.

His wife Goh Bee Khim, 51, and their two sons, Yong Liang, 20, and Yong Wei, 17, were found dead after their double-storey terrace house in USJ 2/3 in Subang Jaya caught fire on Monday morning.

The family had moved to Kuala Lumpur from Butterworth about 20 years ago.

The Fire and Rescue Department sped to the scene after receiving a call at 5.34am but the fire was too fierce when they arrived.

The family was trapped and killed by smoke inhalation. It is believed that Lim could have rushed to wake up his sons in the next room before they all succumbed to the smoke.

Lim’s body was found with Yong Liang and Yong Wei in the second room on the upper floor while Goh’s body was found in the bathroom of the master bedroom.

The sole survivor in the family of five, Lim’s eldest daughter Yi Jun, 23, was at her college hostel at that time.

The four bodies arrived here yesterday at about 7am.

Lim’s brother Ah Bak, 55, said the funeral will be held on Friday morning and the bodies will be cremated. The location has yet to be decided.

He said Yi Jun will be encouraged to complete her college education, adding that relatives had vowed to give her all the support needed.

Also present at the wake was Goh’s mother Peh Siew Ai, 88.