YIO Chu Kang MP Seng Han Thong is recovering from a skin graft operation on his upper right arm and responded to family members who visited him on Tuesday, but he is still unable to speak.

Mr Seng, 59, has been under sedation for the past two days at the Singapore General Hospital's (SGH) burns unit.

Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan told reporters after his 45-minute visit to Mr Seng's ward: 'He is making progress and is better than yesterday...We are quite relieved.'

Mr Lee was just one of the MPs and Cabinet ministers who turned up yesterday to see Mr Seng. They included Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong, Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Inderjit Singh and East Coast GRC MP Jessica Tan.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew also dropped by in the evening for the second time since the incident on Sunday.

Mr Singh, who spoke to Mr Seng's wife and daughter, said they were holding up well and were in 'better spirits'.

An SGH spokesman said Mr Seng, who is in the Intensive Care Unit of the burns unit, is currently hooked up to a respirator.

The injured MP is expected to be hospitalised for about 20 days.

He has burns to nearly 15 per cent of his body - on his face, chest and arms - after a man poured thinner on him and set him alight at a grassroots event at Yio Chu Kang Community Club.

Mr Aw Chui Seng, the chairman of Chu Sheng Temple, also suffered burns - though less severe - when he tried to put out the flames on the MP's body.

He, too, underwent a skin graft operation at SGH on Monday and is recovering well at the burns unit, said his wife and daughter.

Mr Aw, 69, is now able to walk around his ward, eat, and even talk on the phone.

The man who allegedly attacked Mr Seng was charged in court on Monday with two counts of causing grievous hurt.

Former taxi driver Ong Kah Chua, 70, who is blind in the left eye, has been remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric examination.

He is due to appear in court again on Jan 23. If convicted, he can be jailed for life.