Mr Seng remains in intensive care and will undergo a skin graft.
YIO Chu Kang Member of Parliament Seng Han Thong, who was set on fire on Sunday by a resident, underwent a skin graft operation on his upper right arm at the Singapore General Hospital yesterday.
Mr Seng, who was sedated after the operation, is in stable condition and is currently recovering at the Intensive Care Unit in the hospital's Burns Unit. An eye specialist has also seen the 59-year-old.
Mr Seng suffered nearly 15 per cent burns on his face, chest and arms, following an attack in which a man poured thinner on him and set him alight.
The man who helped Mr Seng beat out the flames on his body also underwent a skin graft on his hands. Chu Sheng Temple chairman Aw Chui Seng suffered burns to about 10 per cent of his body.
Mr Aw, 69, is recovering in the general ward in the Burns Unit.
Dr Martin Huang, a plastic surgeon at the Cosmetic Surgery Clinic, said skin used to replace burnt skin is usually harvested from 'nice big pieces of skin' such as from the thigh which has a wide and flat surface. 'The thigh area is also not a very exposed area so scars cannot be seen easily,' said Dr Huang.
Later in the evening, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Boon Heng met with Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Inderjit Singh and Yio Chu Kang grassroots leaders at the Yio Chu Kang Community Club to discuss issues which have arisen as a result of Mr Seng's condition.
Mr Lim told reporters later that he hoped Mr Seng would recover soon but expected him to be 'out of action for the next couple of months'.
Mr Singh told The Straits Times that the six MPs in the Ang Mo Kio GRC will take over Mr Seng's duties in Yio Chu Kang, a single-seat ward.
A roster will be drawn up for at least three months. Mr Singh will start things off, replacing Mr Seng at a meet-the-people session on Thursday.
'We'll plan for the next three months and hopefully he's back by then. If we need to extend, we'll extend,' he said.
Asked about the issue of security for MPs, Mr Singh said that while MPs and grassroots members would be more vigilant when carrying out their public duties, the attack against Mr Seng was an isolated incident and linked to a suspect with a history of mental illness.
'I don't think we should cover ourselves with security...it's very important that we continue to be accessible to our residents. We shouldn't over-react.'
At the hospital, Cabinet Ministers and fellow MPs such as Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean and labour chief Lim Swee Say paid visits to Mr Seng and spoke to his mother, wife and daughter.
Grassroots leaders also showed up in force although most were politely turned away as Mr Seng was resting after his operation. Many penned their well-wishes in a book placed outside the Burns Unit.
Just before visiting hours ended at 8.30pm, relatives of Mr Seng were seen carting about 10 hampers, including one from movie director Jack Neo, away.
The attack on Mr Seng happened around noon on Sunday after he handed out hongbao and education bursaries to about 150 needy elderly and students at the Yio Chu Kang Community Club.
The event organised by Chu Sheng Temple had been an annual affair for the past 28 years. Previous ceremonies had been held on temple grounds. This year, the temple held it in the hall at the club as a tie-up with another programme that distributed sacks of rice to the elderly.
Prior to the morning event, Mr Seng and Mr Aw had prayed at the temple, said temple committee member Ang Lian Yee.
They then made their way to the community club hall next door at about 11am. The hall has a floor area slightly larger than two badminton courts, on which tables and chairs had been arranged.
The elderly folk sat there to tuck into porridge and other dishes while Mr Seng and Mr Aw went about distributing the red packets containing $100 each, said Mr Ang, 65, a technician who is also Mr Aw's childhood friend.
When the ceremony ended at 11.45am and the crowd dispersed, Mr Seng and Mr Aw joined some 30 temple and grassroots volunteers at about three or four tables near the stage for lunch.
Mr Seng was seated facing the stage when the suspect came into the hall and allegedly set him ablaze. Mr Aw tried to douse the flames on Mr Seng, but got burnt as well.
Both men's wives received calls informing them about the incident.
Mr Aw's wife said her husband, the temple chairman for 12 years, was doing fine and was able to talk and eat.
The Aws - who live in a flat in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 - have four grown-up children and six grandchildren. Mrs Aw said: 'Of course I was worried...it happened so suddenly.'
Neither she nor Mr Ang were surprised that her husband had gone to help Mr Seng.
Mr Ang said in Mandarin: 'He's a self-sacrificing person who puts others before himself.'
