MP Seng Han Thong recounts fiery attack

June 9, 2009

MP recounts fiery attack

By Kor Kian Beng
		Mr Seng receives occupational therapy treatment. -- PHOTO: PETIR

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MR SENG Han Thong was about to have his lunch when he felt something like cold water trickling down his neck. The next thing he knew, he was ablaze.

Only when the Yio Chu Kang MP was being taken to hospital in an ambulance did Mr Seng notice that his own hands and fingers were 'black and charred'.

The ordeal in his own words On the first time that Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew visited him in hospital. MM Lee visited Mr Seng five times in total: 'One day, I heard a voice saying: 'I am Lee Kuan Yew'. I then realised that Minister Mentor Lee was at my bedside, checking my condition. He was very concerned about my vital organs and senses, especially my hearing and eyesight. ... more RELATED LINKS PAP magazine article: Face it

'What I didn't realise was that my injuries went far beyond this,' said Mr Seng, giving his first account of that fateful day on Jan 11 this year when a resident allegedly poured thinner on him before torching him.

It appeared in the latest issue of the People's Action Party (PAP) magazine, Petir, published once every two months. In his two-page article titled Face It, Mr Seng looked back on the attack, the impact on his family, and his journey of recovery from the 14 per cent burns on his face, shoulders, arms and chest.

He was hospitalised for 28 days at Singapore General Hospital (SGH), underwent several skin graft operations and is now attending weekly therapy sessions.

Mr Seng, 59, expressed his thanks to Cabinet ministers, current and former MPs, grassroots leaders, unionists and community leaders, former colleagues and editors from the media, and ordinary Singaporeans, including taxi drivers, who had visited him at SGH.

Mr Seng's attacker was former cabby Ong Kah Chua, 70, who is now in remand at the Institute of Mental Health. Ong is accused of pouring thinner on Mr Seng and setting him alight at Yio Chu Kang Community Club, where the MP was handing out hongbao to the needy and bursaries to students.

In the first five days when he was in the intensive care unit, Mr Seng said his swollen arms were tied to the bed to prevent him from pulling out the tube that was placed in his mouth.

Despite his ordeal, Mr Seng, who was discharged on Feb 7, is philosophical about the injuries he suffered.

'In life, we always encounter challenges and situations which need our immediate response...The best and only way to deal with such a blow is to face it, rather than fear it, and overcome it rationally and decisively,' he said.

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