BANGKOK - THE badly-charred bodies of two Singaporeans, missing since the fire that razed a packed Bangkok nightclub on New Year's Day, have been positively identified, bringing the death toll among Singaporeans to three.
The pair, student Lu Weiye, 26, and air traffic controller Leslie Yeo Bee Soon, 40, were among the last to be identified yesterday. By evening, the mortuary still had nine nameless bodies on its hands.
The early-morning blaze at the upscale Santika Club in the Thai capital has killed 62 people so far and injured at least 229; more than 30 are fighting for their lives in intensive care, said Thai police.
The body of Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) air traffic controller Teo Sze Siong, 38, was identified soon after the blaze; of the three injured Singaporeans, two are still in Bangkok hospitals.
But Mr Lu and Mr Yeo had been unaccounted for until now.
Dr Pornchai Sutwerakune of the Thai police's forensic medicine institute told The Straits Times that they were the most badly burnt of the lot.
The photographs of their bodies, tagged No. 29 and No. 32, were tacked up next to each other on the notice board of the Police General Hospital's mortuary yesterday, their faces charred beyond recognition.
Forensics officers could not find personal papers on them, though they still had their badly burnt wrist watches on.
DNA aided in identifying them. Tissue samples were taken from their rib cartilage, said a mortuary official, and matched with samples their next-of-kin sent over from Singapore.
Mr Lu's DNA was matched with his mother's, and Mr Yeo's, with his mother's and two younger brothers'.
Mr Yeo's three close friends and colleagues from CAAS, who flew into Bangkok on Friday night, had brought along his dental records, but the film was not clear, said Dr Sutwerakune.
Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it has made arrangements for the two men's families to go to Bangkok to claim their bodies.
The positive identification of the two men yesterday brought their friends' searches to a close.
Their friends had showed up at the mortuary shortly after noon in the hope of news.
On hearing the DNA test results, Mr Lu's friends insisted on seeing his body. The three emerged from the mortuary five minutes later, looking shocked.
Mr Yeo's colleagues were composed upon getting the news, but said they would wait for the embassy to confirm it and left the hospital quickly.
Mr Yeo, with the CAAS for 14 years as an air traffic controller, also trained new controllers and was recently asked to lead air traffic management projects.
CAAS director-general and chief executive Lim Kim Choon, expressed his condolences to the families of Mr Yeo and Mr Teo, noting that both were popular among their colleagues and would be deeply missed at CAAS.
Meanwhile, Thai police said they would press charges against one of the club's main shareholders. Summonses have also been issued for the club's 13 directors.
Police say Santika had been refused an operating licence since 2004 because of safety concerns, but it remained open legally pending the club's appeal against the decision.
Thai television footage showed major shareholder Wisuth Setsawat tearfully expressing regret.
He said: 'I feel very sorry for what has happened. I want to apologise to the victims' family members.'
