KUALA LUMPUR - AS ONE of Malaysia's top cops, Commissioner Koh Hong Sun has seen and investigated many crimes, including scores of heart-wrenching ones. But what happened on Tuesday shook him to the core - his 22-year-old son was killed in a fire at their family home at Mont Kiara Bayu apartment building here.

As the fire raged in their 32nd floor apartment, Keat Lee, a chef in a Japanese restaurant, made a desperate call to his parents, crying for help. By the time help arrived, it was too late. The entire unit was razed and Keat Lee's remains were found on the balcony by firemen.

Federal Commercial Crimes director Comm Koh, who arrived minutes later with his wife and second son, aged 18, had to be held back before eventually being allowed to enter the rented apartment, accompanied by several senior police officers, including Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar.

Scores of reporters, who had waited downstairs, were shocked. Several people were moved to tears, including Ismail who had the unenviable task of breaking the news that Koh's eldest son had been burnt to death.

An ambulance from University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) escorted by police outriders took Keat Lee's body to the morgue where a post-mortem was conducted.

A woman, who lives in an opposite block, said she saw a man shouting frantically for help from the balcony of the 32nd-floor condominium unit.

A Thai national, Thanikaa, who works as a maid for a family living on the 29th floor, said she heard an explosion from a unit above her while she was washing clothes. She said that when she looked out of the window, she saw smoke billowing from one of the units and quickly ran down using the staircase, as the lifts were not working.

Fire and rescue department head of operation Zakaria Mohamad said they received a call at 9.32am and managed to bring the flames under control within 14 minutes before totally dousing the fire by 11.30am.

Meanwhile, at the morgue, hundreds of people including VIPs, politicians and police officers came in droves when they heard about the tragedy that had befallen Comm Koh's family.

A spokesman for the family urged the media not to speculate on the incident and to allow the family to grieve the loss of their son. He said the remains of Keat Lee would be cremated in Malacca on Thursday. - THE STAR