THE STAR – A Malaysian couple who travelled to Bangkok to look for their missing son was heartbroken upon finding out their son passed away on May 11 at Mae Sot Hospital near the Thailand-Myanmar border.
Goi Chee Kong, 50, and his wife, 45, from Ipoh, Perak, were devastated when they found out Zhan Feng, 23, had fallen victim to a job scam.
He was believed to have been trafficked into Myawaddy in southeastern Myanmar and forced to work for the syndicate.
The couple travelled to Bangkok on August 30 and were scheduled to fly to Mae Sot the following day to meet their son.
“We were told my son was ill and was receiving treatment at the hospital. Therefore, my wife and I travelled to Bangkok, hoping to bring him back to Malaysia for treatment.
“However, we were informed he had died at 2am on May 11. The doctor believed my son was abused before he was left at the hospital for treatment on April 11,” he told Bernama.
Chee Kong said his son was admitted to the hospital’s ICU unit under a fake name and passport number.
Due to his son’s fake identity, he said the hospital could not reach the embassy and family to discuss his health condition and treatment.
“Without further medical treatment, he passed away a month later. His remain was buried at a cemetery in Si Racha in Chonburi province,” he said.
To bring closure to the family, Chee Kong said he and his wife hope to bring their son’s ashes home as soon as possible.
However, he was informed by a non-governmental organisation that arranged his son’s burial services in May to settle the outstanding hospital bills of about MYR40,000 before the family could obtain a death certificate to exhume the body for DNA testing and cremation.
With the assistance of Teruntum assemblyman Sim Chon Siang who is in Bangkok, a fundraising campaign was launched on September 2.
In about 22 hours, the family had collected MYR50,000 from generous members of the public.
