KUALA LUMPUR: Car jockey Tiong Kwong Yie, 36, who died in the early morning blast today was a helpful man.
A fellow colleague who refused to be identified said this of him when interviewed by The New Straits Times.
Recalling the incident, the jockey said Tiong was driving one of the cars when the explosion occured.
"He was driving a Camry to one of our customers in front of the club. Suddenly, we heard a loud thud on the vehicle's roof followed by an explosion.
"Everyone was screaming and running for cover. We quickly rushed to Tiong, who was lying on the road and found he was still alive despite suffering serious injuries to his face and body. But based on his injuries, I knew he would not pull through," he said.
He added that Tiong had worked for the club for almost two years.
As of 9pm, police were no longer stationed at the scene but patrols were conducted every half an hour to ensure the situation was under control.
Sources said the area was deemed safe and police were in the midst of working with other nightclubs and hotels nearby to scrutinise the closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) for clues.
The pre-dawn explosion sent a fireball and black smoke into the air, destroying a Toyota Camry and damaging three other vehicles, a Toyota Vellfire, a Mazda and a BMW in front of the entertainment outlet here.
Witnesses in the area nearby compared the scene to a war-zone with all the debris scattered on the road.
"Patrons at the nightclub were shouting and ran for covers. All I saw were bodies lying on the street, some writhing in pain and also fragments of the damaged vehicles," said a car jockey of the club.
Police cordoned off the area with yellow tape to allow the police investigation team to work on the case.
Several roads leading to the Sun Plaza were re-opened at 3pm.
Business operations at nearby stores were temporarily halted while those who lived in the vicinity were forced to evacuate leaving the area partially empty.
EARLIER REPORT
Seven victims of the Bukit Bintang bombing are still being warded at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital while three have been transferred to Ampang Hospital.
Two others were transferred to Gleneagles Hospital in Ampang.
All of them were reported to be in stable condition.
One person was killed and 12 others, including four women, injured when a bomb exploded in front of an entertainment outlet in Bukit Bintang, here, early today.
The deceased was identified to be a 36-year-old Sarawakian working as a car jockey.
Among the injured were a Singaporean, four Chinese women and a Thai. The rest were Malaysians.
The 4am incident happened when one of two bombs, believed to have been hurled from the second floor of the Sun Complex, exploded in Jalan Bintang off Jalan Bukit Bintang there.
Police recovered the second bomb, which had failed to go off, under a Toyota Camry which had been damaged when the first one exploded.
Besides the Camry, three other cars were also damaged by the explosion.
City deputy Criminal Investigation Department chief Assistant Commissioner Khairy Ahrasa said the victims were rushed to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital and Tung Shin private hospital here.
“Police are still investigating the motive behind the incident, and we are checking the background of the victims.
“The case is being investigated under Section 4 of the Firearms Act and the Penal Code,” he said at the scene.
Khairy said the victims were aged between 20 and 42.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi said he was waiting for a preliminary report from the police.
Police will be issuing a statement on the matter later today.
Additional reporting by Kalaavani Karupiah and Hani Sharudin