Probe under way into deaths of Johor elderly couple after eating pufferfish
JOHOR BAHRU - Investigations into the deaths of a couple after consuming pufferfish are underway, said Johor Health and Unity Committee Chairman Ling Tian Soon.
He said that the Johor Health Department had taken action as soon as the case was reported.
“The department has carried out an investigation on the ground to identify the supplier, wholesaler and seller of the pufferfish or ‘ikan buntal’.
“The state district health office has also opened an investigation paper under the Food Act 1983,” he said in a statement on Saturday night.
He said that the state Health Department will also be conducting discussions with the Fisheries Department and several local universities with expertise on fisheries and toxins or poisons to find a holistic solution on the issue.
“Information on puffer fish has also been posted to the Health Ministry’s Food Safety and Quality Facebook page on March 29 and 31 as well as April 1.
“We urge the public to be careful when choosing their food, especially if it has known risks.
“We would also like to express our condolences to the family members of the victims,” he said.
It was earlier reported that an 84-year-old man who was previously in an intensive care unit after eating pufferfish on March 25 had passed away on Saturday morning.
Mr Ling said that the man, Mr Ng Chuan Sing, was not responsive since around 5.20am when checked by a nurse.
“Emergency treatment was given immediately by medical officers for about 30 minutes before he was declared dead.
“The body of the victim was then handed over to the forensic unit before being given to the next of kin on the same day,” he said.
His death came just two weeks after his 83-year-old wife, Lim Siew Guan, died on March 25.
The couple’s daughter, Ms Ng Ai Lee, said her father had asked about his wife shortly before he died. He did not known that Madam Lim had died.
“My father woke up from an eight-day coma. The first person he asked for was my mother. We told him she is resting at home.
“We did not tell him the truth because we were worried that he could not take it, but we had a feeling that he knew my mother had died. He cried,” she said.
Ms Ng said after spending more than 10 days at the intensive care unit, her father was transferred to the normal ward on March 6.
“He looked fine and talked to me like usual. He asked about my mother again, and we still hid the sad news from him, telling him that mum was okay and asked him to focus on his own health and recovery,” she recalled the last meeting with her father on Friday evening.
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