KAJANG: Sobs of grief and sorrow filled the halls of the Jing An Memorial Village here as family members and close friends offered their final goodbyes to teenager Yap Xin Yuan.
Over two dozen people stood in silence during the final rites as they mourned the loss of the 15-year-old schoolgirl, who is believed to have been murdered.
The crowd then escorted a hearse containing her ashes before she was sent off to her final resting place at the nearby Tian Ning Columbarium.
There, just about everyone offered their own final parting gift to Xin Yuan, before her urn was sealed.
From flowers and snacks to teddy bears, her niche in the columbarium was filled with items from her loved ones.
“Coming home every day is going to be so much lonelier, with one less person in my house,” said Xin Yuan’s father yesterday.
With a look of anguish, Xin Yuan’s mother could only hope that justice would be served on those responsible for the death of her daughter.
“I just hope the three suspects will be given due punishment for having taken my daughter’s life away,” she said.
Xin Yuan’s decomposed body was found at a river near RTB Sungai Changgang in Banting on Dec 28 last year, and a subsequent DNA test matched her to her mother.
She was reported missing on Dec 19 after she left her house to attend an 8.30am lion dance practice session at a basketball court in Batu 11, Cheras.
According to a closed-circuit television recording her parents obtained from her boyfriend’s neighbour, Xin Yuan was instead shown arriving via an e-hailing car at her boyfriend’s house around 8.45am that day.
Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said on Jan 3 that police believed her death was linked to her 16-year-old boyfriend and are investigating who dumped Xin Yuan’s body into the river.
The three suspects are still in custody to facilitate investigations into the case which has been classified as murder.
