Storm victim’s final resting place: Permanently entombed outside Penang Umno HQ

GEORGE TOWN  - The remains of economy rice seller, Lim Chin Aik, 44, will be permanently entombed 7m below Jalan Macalister after search and rescue operations were called off over safety concerns at 8am today.

The crater, dug up over 40 hours of non-stop operations since Saturday, will be filled and stabilised over the next three days. The road is scheduled to be open to traffic on Thursday.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said operations were called off after discussions with the victim’s family who had come to a consensus on the matter.

In the interim period, Chin Aik’s family will be allowed to offer prayers and continue with other religious rituals at the site.

Tanjong MP Ng Wei Aik said the decision was made after it was discovered that any further digging would risk other buildings in the vicinity and that the move was based on the advice of the Engineering Department of the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP).

“We need to think of the safety of other buildings and structures along Jalan Macalister,” he said.

Many of the structures along the road are heritage buildings which would be in danger if excavation work to deepen the crater continues.

Chin Aik’s car was crushed when a giant strucrture on top of the Menara Umno fell during a freak storm last Thursday.

Earlier, the search and rescue team found the back seat and another car tyre after about 40 hours of starting operations.

Ng added the team found parts of the wrecked car after digging about seven metres below the road surface.

Chin Aik’s younger brother, Khung Ling, thanked everyone involved in the search and rescue effort for working round the clock.

“I would like to thank volunteers who had been helping us a lot in this period,” he said, while other family members, especially his mother, were seen sobbing uncontrollably.

Lim also cautioned that another structure on the roof of the Umno building must be monitored by the council to prevent a recurrence of the recent incident.
“I have instructed the MPPP to monitor it closely,” he added.

Met at the scene, state Umno Youth chief Sheikh Hussain Mydin urged Lim not to politicise the issue and to ensure that all remedial work is carried out.

He was commenting on Lim’s call to the owner of the Umno building, JKP Sdn Bhd, to dismantle the remaining structures on the roof to avoid further complications.

Meanwhile, Penang Hospital chief Datuk Dr Zahari Noor said its forensic team will have to find Chin Aik’s bone fragments before he can be legally declared dead.

The Sundaily