GEORGE TOWN: Lee Kok Eang who sustained severe burns following an explosion in his apartment unit recently, succumbed to his injuries today.
The 63-year-old died at about 2.30am today at the Penang Hospital's intensive care unit (ICU) where he was receiving treatment.
Kok Eang's son Lee Chye Soon said the family was devastated by the death of his father, in the wake of the destruction of their home on Sunday.
“We have no words for the sorrow we feel,” he said briefly when contacted, here, today.
In the incident on Sunday morning, Kok Eang, who had woken up early, was lighting up a cigarette when an explosion rocked his apartment unit as well as his neighbour's.
The explosion was believed to have been caused by a gas leak.
Chye Soon, his wife and child who were sleeping in a room at the time of the incident, escaped unscathed.
The two residents of the neighbouring unit also suffered no injuries.
Kok Eang had been living in the unit for the past 15 year with his family.
The incident resulted in him sustaining 80 per cent burns on his body.
Northeast district police chief Assistant Commissioner Che Zaimani Che Awang said that Chye Soon saw his father leaning against the wall with a lighter and a cigarette box beside him when he rushed out of the room after the explosion.
The explosion blew off the walls in the unit as well as the wall separating Kok Eang’s unit from his neighbour's unit.