TAWAU: The pain was too much for the family of the Taiwanese couple at the Pom Pom Island Resort as they wept inconsolably upon seeing the body of Hsu Li Min.
Richard Chang, brother of the abducted 58-year-old Chang An Wei, was in tears after seeing the body of his brother-in-law, 57-year-old Hsu at the Tawau mortuary yesterday.
Richard had flown in from Taipei with Hsu’s brother, Li Ren, and their two nephews.
All of them looked solemn and were dressed in black suits and their eyes welled with tears upon reaching the mortuary.
Later at a hotel lobby, Richard who had his hair tied up in a ponytail and was wearing sunglasses, said he still had not received any information on the whereabouts of his sister.
However, he was hopeful that he would see her again.
“We believe she’s still alive. Most of the information we have is from the media. We were not officially updated on this case,” he said calmly.
Richard said they did not want to say too much as they did not want to jeopardise her safety.
Sombre atmosphere: Li Ren (with yellow vest) and other family members at the Tawau Hospital mortuary. -NORMIMIE DIUN/The Star
“I don’t want to be misinterpreted,” he explained.
Hsu was shot dead by Abu Sayyaf-linked gunmen who abducted Chang from the resort on Friday.
Richard also said his sister was suffering from some health problems including diabetes.
He also thanked all the parties who had helped him so far.
Accompanied by Taiwanese Foreign Ministry officials and the police, they arrived in Kota Kinabalu International Airport from Taipei at 11.30am.
A Buddhist monk also accompanied the family to perform religious rites.
Hordes of Taiwanese journalists and broadcasters from Taiwan were also on the same flight.
They then took a flight to Tawau Airport and arrived at about 3.15pm.
“We are nervous and sad,” Richard told the hordes of waiting reporters at the airport.
The family members were brought to the hospital from the airport by the Pom Pom resort vans escorted by the police.
A post-mortem will be conducted before Hsu’s cremation today.
At 8pm yesterday, the family held prayers for the deceased at the Fo Guang Shan temple in Tawau, attended by about 30 people.
Meanwhile, the Sabah government has extended its condolences to Hsu’s family.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment assistant minister Datuk Pang Nyuk Ming extended condolences to the four family members at the Kota Kinabalu Inter-national Airport.
When contacted, Pang said he assured family members that steps were being taken by various authorities to help in Chang’s return.