Singaporean who died in Bangkok blast was a loving wife
She was a Manchester United fan, a chatty lady, and a loving wife - but above all, friends of Ms Melisa Liu Rui Chun remember her for her hearty laughter.
It is something they will now miss dearly after Ms Liu, 34, was killed in a bomb blast that ripped through the evening crowd at Ratchaprasong intersection in the Thai capital Bangkok on Monday night.
Her husband, Mr Ng Su Teck, 35, and her brother are among the seven Singaporeans injured.
Looking wan but alert on his hospital bed, Mr Ng cut a quiet figure at Ramathibodi Hospital yesterday afternoon. His
hearing has been affected by the blast and he was cut by glass shrapnel.
"I'm okay," he ventured numbly, before asking The Straits Times whether news about his wife had gone public.
Mr Ng, who works in sales, and Ms Liu, an employee at AXA Singapore, had travelled to Bangkok with some companions for a holiday.
Ms Liu died on the spot when the hidden bomb exploded some time around 7pm that day, the Thai authorities said.
Her body is being kept at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in central Bangkok. Her relatives turned up at the institute yesterday, but did not specify when her body would be flown back to Singapore.
According to one of Mr Ng's two male companions at his bedside, he wants to be transferred to a Singapore hospital as early as today, and has requested help from the Singapore Embassy to arrange that.
Yesterday, the couple's friends reacted in shock to the tragic news.
"I still don't want to believe it, I'm still hoping they have the wrong person," said Mr Marc Than, a sales and marketing manager.
Mr Than, 31, met Ms Liu in 2011 while they were both working as relationship managers in DBS bank.
"She was always laughing, very loud and outgoing. I saw her as one of the boys. Just a few weeks ago, we were complaining about (Louis) van Gaal," said Mr Than, referring to football club Manchester United's manager.
Ms Liu had the kind of winsome personality that could make anyone like her, he added.
"She could talk to anybody. If a customer came in speaking proper English, she could speak with him. If an aunty came in speaking Hokkien, she could talk to her too," said Mr Than, adding that Ms Liu was like an older sister to him.
He said that Ms Liu and Mr Ng had a strong relationship, and he knew the latter as the "strong, silent type".
Another friend of the couple, Ms Serene Boey, said they did not have children, but wanted to conceive and were planning to sign up for a fertility programme this year. "She just attended my baby's full month (celebration) in March. We've been keeping in contact. We're very close," said the 35-year-old auditor.
Ms Boey, who has known Ms Liu since they were in secondary school, said her friend was always "friendly and cheerful".
Speaking in Parliament yesterday about the attack that killed 20 people and injured another 120, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam said: "Members will join me in extending our deepest condolences to the family of the young lady who was killed."
He added: " It is a tragic loss. To all who were injured, including the Singaporeans, we wish them speedy recovery."
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