|
Mr Bong Kwang Hong's mother arrives with unidentified man. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM
|
|
|
WHEN the Bong family crossed the Causeway on Thursday evening, the person who greeted them at the Malaysian side of the checkpoint was an undertaker.
The family did not have a car, so the undertaker from Tangkak picked them up and ferried them to the town near Muar.
Throughout the 31/2 hour journey in the undertaker's black Mercedes-Benz, the matriarch, who wanted to be known only as Madam Bong, wept.
Her eldest son, hotel sales manager Kevin Bong Kwang Hong, 37, was the driver of the Mitsubishi Grandis which careened off the North-South Highway earlier that day.
The accident killed him, his wife, Eleane Jane Kor Yee Lin, 36, mother-in-law Magdalene Pang Chee Seng, 69, and the couple's two-year-old son, Justin.
On the grim trip up north to claim their bodies, Mrs Bong was accompanied by her two other sons, accountant Mr Bong Kwang Hwa, 34, and Mr Bong Kwang Sheng, the youngest sibling.
At the toll booth along the North-South Highway leading to Tangkak, they stopped to await the arrival of another grieving family - their in-laws.
Mr Jonas Kor and his wife were driving up in their silver Toyota Camry.
Mr Kor said he had gotten a call from Malaysian police at about 4 pm informing him that his mother and sister were victims of the fatal crash.
The families' only source of consolation: two-month-old Jolene, who miraculously survived with nary a scratch despite having been flung 10m out of the multi-purpose vehicle.
The next 24 hours passed in a blur for the two families, as they rushed from hospital to morgue to police station, attending to the wretched tasks at hand while trying to make sense of how their loved ones were wiped out in one of the most horrific accidents the Muar cops have seen.
Their first stop: Tangkak hospital, where Jolene had been in the care of nurses for the past 12 hours.
A sobbing Madam Bong and other family members rushed into the ward to see the baby, who was swaddled in white cloth.
Granny held the baby for a few moments, and both wailed loudly until Madam Bong was led gently to the next stop: The morgue, a few minutes away.
Inside, the morgue attendant opened the drawers where the bodies were stored, one by one.
While Madam Bong called out the names of each family member upon seeing their broken bodies, Mr Kor - the most composed in the group - knelt by them.
The rest of the family held their composure for as long as they could, but it finally cracked when the fourth drawer was opened to reveal Justin's body.
Madam Bong was so convulsed with grief that she had to be supported by her two sons.
By the time they left the morgue, it was 11 pm.
They headed for a nearby traffic police station next, where officers recorded their statements till about 3 am.
Mr Kor said: 'We had no appetite for anything else. There were a lot of things to work out...a lot of arrangements.'
This included making calls to the United States to reach his brother, whose children were intending to visit their grandmother in two months' time.
Madam Pang had been looking forward to their visit, Mr Kor said.
Now, her grandchildren will return from the United States to see the former teacher and nurse for the last time.
At 9 am, it was time to move again, back to the police station, where they were confronted with another horriific sight: The mangled heap that used to be Mr Bong's car.
Strewn amidst the wreck were reminders of their loss.
An olive Crocs sandal here.
A baby's pillow adorned with a teddy bear, stars and hearts there.
Bags belonging to the family were then handed over to relatives, and then, it was back to the mortuary, where the bodies were being readied for their journey home.
Encased in brown coffins, husband and wife were loaded onto a white van while Madam Pang and Justin were put into a blue one. It was all too much for Madam Bong, who sobbed for more than an hour.
When she had calmed down, the Bong brothers split up, one to each van.
The destination: The Church of St Mary's of the Angels in Bukit Batok, for a wake that will last until Wednesday. The bodies arrived last night.
As for Jolene, it appears she will be in the care of Mr Kor, who has two sons, aged 14 and 17.
'We cannot replace her parents' love, but it's our priority to take care of her and give her the best home possible,' said Mr Kor.
'To lose one is painful. To lose four is...heartwrenching.'
|
