A family’s desperate attempt to escape a landslide ended in tragedy when 73-year-old doctor Wong Kar Lin was crushed by concrete at his home in Taman Seri Rambai, Paya Terubong, Penang.
Wong’s mother-in-law, Wong Poh Lim, who is in her 80s, was showering upstairs when her daughter, Chang Mei Nuo, 68, alerted her to the landslide.
The two rushed downstairs to escape, only to discover that Wong had been buried beneath concrete debris in the kitchen.
“We were shocked and immediately ran out to save ourselves. Everything happened so quickly,” Poh Lim said when met at the scene.
The tragedy was particularly devastating for the family, as Wong had lived with them for decades. Poh Lim described him as a good son-in-law who had been part of their family for more than 30 years.
She said only the three of them were at home when the landslide struck, while the couple’s four children lived separately.
Although Poh Lim and Chang escaped unharmed, the elderly woman was left shaken by the loss of someone who had been part of the family for so long.
Chang, meanwhile, was left grieving the sudden loss of her husband. She said it was the first incident of its kind since they began living in the area.
She also expressed relief that Wong’s body was recovered intact from beneath the soil and concrete.
The landslide struck the house at 8.36am on Sunday, with Fire and Rescue Department personnel recovering Wong’s body at about 11.21am.
