Dad’s blind fury leaves girl blinded

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GEORGE TOWN: The man had fought with his wife, complaining that their daughter was not spending enough time on her studies.

And then, he splashed acid on the two and left the 17-year-old schoolgirl permanently blind and her mother dead.

According to Tan Hui Linn’s (pic) relatives, the father always wanted her to concentrate on her studies instead of spending time helping her mother at their fried noodle stall.

Now, Hui Linn lies in hospital not knowing that her mother is dead and that she will never be able to see again.

Hui Linn, a Form Five student, who sustained 60% burns on her face and upper torso, is still warded at the Penang Hospital’s intensive care unit in a stable condition.

Her brother Jun Hong, 20, when met at the hospital mortuary yesterday, said he was afraid to tell his sister that she was blind and that their mother was dead.

He was afraid she might become emotional which may aggravate her condition.

“How is she going to cope, especially with the SPM examination soon? She is a bright student who scored 7As in her PMR examination,” he said.

Jun Hong, a Universiti Utara Malaysia undergraduate, said he was also shocked by what his father had done to his mother but would have to learn to come to terms with it.

“I will place my sister under our relatives’ care when she recovers,” he said.

Jun Hong, who aspires to become a stockbroker, said his parents’ relationship had been strained for the last seven years, adding that they would often argue over petty matters almost every month.

“The last time I saw them was during the Deepavali holidays and they were all right. But my father is a bit unpredictable at times, as he likes things done his way.”

According to other family members, the quarrel was always over their daughter.

“The father always wanted the daughter to concentrate more on her studies while the mother would always ask her to help out at her fried noodle stall.

“I believe their last argument was the last straw.”

On Saturday, Jun Hong’s mother Cheong Swee Lin, 50, and sister were sleeping in their Jalan Batu Lanchang home when his father came in at 3am and splashed acid on them.

Cheong, who was badly burnt, died about 10 hours later.

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Azam Abd Hamid said the case was considered solved with the arrest of the man.