Seetoh Kwok Meng, and his wife, Chang Kai En, died after a suspected gas explosion after entering their holiday home in Tuscany in December 2024. - KF SEETOH/ FACEBOOK
SINGAPORE: The remains of Makansutra food guide founder K.F. Seetoh’s brother will be repatriated to Singapore, more than three months after he and his wife died in a suspected gas explosion in Italy in December 2024.
In a Facebook post on March 27, Seetoh gave an update on being able to gain some closure after the unexpected death of his elder brother, Seetoh Kwok Meng, 68.
“Now allowed to retrieve my brother’s remains for home, after three months… That gas explosion that killed him and his wife was so unexpected and unfortunate, but the heavens above always work mysteriously. Investigations on the cause are still ongoing, but we need some closure for now,” he said.
It is not known if the remains of Seetoh’s sister-in-law Chang Kai En, 52, will also be allowed to be taken.
Seetoh said that his brother had spent the past six years in Molazzana, a municipality in Lucca, in the Tuscany area – where both he and Chang died in their holiday home – and said he wished he could “walk a mile in his shoes”.
A funeral for Seetoh Kwok Meng is expected to take place in Italy, followed by a memorial in Singapore from April 7-8.
Seetoh thanked Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in his post for their “attention and updating us on the situation and the nuances in the process”.
Seetoh Kwok Meng and his wife had returned to their villa after dinner on the night of Dec 21, before the explosion happened at around 11.45pm, according to local media. A loud bang was heard, and the house caught fire before collapsing.
Seetoh’s body was found under the rubble on Dec 22, but Chang’s remains were discovered by a sniffer dog close to the couple’s villa only on Dec 26. - The Straits Times/ANN
