Family spared double tragedy - The family of an accident victim who died on Tuesday morning was spared a double tragedy when his widow was rushed to..

Family spared double tragedy
By CHITRA S. NATHAN
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

SEREMBAN: The family of an accident victim who died on Tuesday morning was spared a double tragedy when his widow was rushed to the Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital here in time after she swallowed 20 sleeping pills.

Lee Kah Mun, 25, swallowed the pills after returning home from her husband Chin Hee Soon’s funeral at 11am yesterday.

A family friend said Lee, who had given birth to her firstborn a week ago, had gone to take a nap.

“Family members checked on her a little while later and were shocked to see an empty bottle of pills on her bedside table.

“They immediately rushed her to the hospital. She was still conscious,” he said.

Painful ordeal: Chin’s family and Jason (sitting second from right) at a press conference on Wednesday. Lee (sitting third from left) was rushed to hospital after she swallowed 20 sleeping pills Thursday.

The family friend, who declined to be named, said Lee had been noticeably distraught.

“Her husband’s death was a shock to her,” he said.

When met at the hospital, Temiang Barisan Nasional service centre co-ordinator Jason Lee said it was fortunate that the young woman’s life was saved.

In a press conference on Wed­nesday, Chin’s family told reporters they were upset about having to learn of his death from a funeral parlour operator despite the fact that the 26-year-old accident victim had been warded for almost a day.

Karaoke centre manager Chin was on his way back home from work in Kuala Lumpur when he was involved in an accident on the North-South Expressway near Nilai at around 7.50am on Monday morning.

He was taken to the hospital but the family said they were not notified of the accident.

Hospital director Dr Jaafar Che Mat claimed that it was not hospital procedure to divulge a victim’s information to a third party (funeral parlour operator).

He said the hospital would contact the family first and if that was not possible, the police would be informed.

Jason has also submitted a request to Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai on Wednesday to investigate the matter.