6 killed as car crashes into trees at the Kuala Lumpur-Ipoh trunk road at Jeram

A newly-married couple and their four friends died after their car crashed into two trees and caught fire.

Bereaved mother thought phone call was a joke

KAMPAR: It is every mother’s night­mare to receive a phone call that their child had passed away.

Lorry driver Gan Ah Lan was awakened from her sleep when she got the call that her eldest daughter Soo Poi Wan had died in a fiery accident.

Gan, 41, who got the call from Poi Wan’s friend at 6.40am, first thought it was a joke.

“I only believed it after I re-confirmed the news with her other friends,” said the mother of three at the police station here yesterday.

Tang Wai Leong’s mother Yin Y.Ling said her second son was helping her at her chicken rice shop here.

“He had just returned from Singapore four months ago. I can’t believe he is gone now,” she said, adding that she identified her son from his chain.

The couple who registered their marriage recently, Wong Chee Keong and Foo Siew Ling, are expected to be laid to rest together, said Wong’s uncle who declined to be named.

“They were supposed to have their wedding ceremony after registering their marriage but sadly their plans have been dashed,” he said.

Lim Ka Wai’s girlfriend, who wished to be known as Fan, said she last spoke to him over the phone at 12.30am.

“He told me he wanted to stay overnight at my home in Ipoh. Although I advised him to postpone his plans as it was getting late, he insisted and I relented,” she said of Lim, who worked as a salesman.

Villager Shasari Ishak, 64, said there were many horrific accidents in the area including one which claimed the lives of a family last year.

Recalling the incident, Shasari said he heard the victims shouting for help but could not do anything due to the intense heat from the flames.

Shasari, a pensioner, hoped that the authorities concerned would put up more street lights along that stretch of road as the area was pitch dark at night.