Thursday September 25, 2008
Friends’ heart-wrenching tribute to Ying Xin
By FARIK ZOLKEPLI
JOHOR BARU: “Jie Jie (sister) go in peace. May you be happy with no sorrow in the afterlife and we will still be best friends.”
Those were the heart-wrenching words of Lee Sher Lin and Chin Hui Ni, both 16, who read an eulogy at the the funeral service for their best friend and classmate Lai Ying Xin, who was kidnapped and murdered on Sept 11.
”We have been best friends for four years and it is very hard to lose her.
”We want to be strong for her in carrying on with our lives but it will be hard,” said Sher Lin.
Friends’ heart-wrenching tribute to Ying Xin
By FARIK ZOLKEPLI
JOHOR BARU: “Jie Jie (sister) go in peace. May you be happy with no sorrow in the afterlife and we will still be best friends.”
Those were the heart-wrenching words of Lee Sher Lin and Chin Hui Ni, both 16, who read an eulogy at the the funeral service for their best friend and classmate Lai Ying Xin, who was kidnapped and murdered on Sept 11.
”We have been best friends for four years and it is very hard to lose her.
”We want to be strong for her in carrying on with our lives but it will be hard,” said Sher Lin.
Final journey: A total of 30 ‘Che Ling’ (Chinese Yoyo) Association members performing for their former member and friend Ying Xin, during the funeral procession in Kulai.
Hui Ni promised that she and her friends would look after Ying Xin’s mother and other family members.
“All of us loved her so much as she was a big part of our lives,” she said adding that she could not still understand what happened to Ying Xin.
About 200 schoolmates, friends and immediate family members, including Yin Xin’s sisters Ying Hui, 20, and Ying Xian, 18 and brother-in-law Alex Wong, 28, attended the funeral held at the Hainan Association in Kulai.
Her parents Chia Siew Phen, 45, and Then Song, 48, did not attend due to their cultural beliefs.
Ying Xin’s body was then taken to the Perpetual Memorial Park in Kulai for cremation at about 11.30am yesterday.
Che Ling (Chinese Yoyo) Association instructor Phang Hai Dong, 50, said Ying Xin, who was an association member, was very gifted in playing the yoyo and she was always eager to share her talents with others.
”She joined the association since she was in Year Six. I am amazed with her talents,” he said,
Phang said 30 association members did a performance at the funeral in memory of Ying Xin.
Bukit Batu assemblyman Cheong Chin Liang, who attended the services, offered his condolences to the family and vowed that crime prevention efforts would be stepped up in the neighbourhood.
He said community policing would be conducted in Taman Puteri in Kulai and a police booth would be set up at the housing area soon. Four suspects have been detained and remanded until Sunday for investigations into Ying Xin’s murder.
Hui Ni promised that she and her friends would look after Ying Xin’s mother and other family members.
“All of us loved her so much as she was a big part of our lives,” she said adding that she could not still understand what happened to Ying Xin.
About 200 schoolmates, friends and immediate family members, including Yin Xin’s sisters Ying Hui, 20, and Ying Xian, 18 and brother-in-law Alex Wong, 28, attended the funeral held at the Hainan Association in Kulai.
Her parents Chia Siew Phen, 45, and Then Song, 48, did not attend due to their cultural beliefs.
Ying Xin’s body was then taken to the Perpetual Memorial Park in Kulai for cremation at about 11.30am yesterday.
Che Ling (Chinese Yoyo) Association instructor Phang Hai Dong, 50, said Ying Xin, who was an association member, was very gifted in playing the yoyo and she was always eager to share her talents with others.
”She joined the association since she was in Year Six. I am amazed with her talents,” he said,
Phang said 30 association members did a performance at the funeral in memory of Ying Xin.
Bukit Batu assemblyman Cheong Chin Liang, who attended the services, offered his condolences to the family and vowed that crime prevention efforts would be stepped up in the neighbourhood.
He said community policing would be conducted in Taman Puteri in Kulai and a police booth would be set up at the housing area soon. Four suspects have been detained and remanded until Sunday for investigations into Ying Xin’s murder.