GEORGE TOWN: The heavens opened up and strong winds blew as the hearse bearing the remains of Loh Yan Hwa and her husband Fan Shun Po arrived at the Kek Lok Si Temple Memorial Hall here this morning.
With the Kuan Yin statue as a backdrop, about 50 family members, relatives and friends of the couple converged to pay their last respects at a tent set up outside the hall.
Also present at the service were Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong, state executive councillors Phee Boon Poh and Chong Eng, several Malaysia Airlines staff and volunteers from the Penang Buddhist Tzu-Chi Merit Society.
Those present laid white roses, and bowed three times, as a mark of respect to the deceased couple.
Tears flowed freely during the funeral service, with the attendees hugging the couple's only son Kelvin and close relative Vivian, as they conveyed their condolences
A condolence board was also set up outside the memorial hall, for mourners to pen their condolence messages.
Two Buddhist monks performed funeral rites for Yan Hwa, 54 and Shun Po, 60.
The family requested privacy as they subsequently brought the urns bearing their remains up to the columbarium, where they will be placed permanently.
Yan Hwa, a restaurateur, and Shun Po, from Hong Kong, had lived in the Netherlands since 1978. The couple ran an award-winning restaurant, Asian Glories, in Rotterdam, which was popular among the locals, as well as celebrities.
Fondly known as Jenny, Yan Hwa was sending her mother, Tan Siew Poh, back to her hometown in Penang.