PENANG - JESS Teh Hooi Wen has spoken to the media for the first time, claiming sleep does not come easy for her following the brutal murder of her three-year-old daughter.
She hit the headlines almost three weeks ago when she was arrested with her boyfriend - who last week was charged with killing three-year-old Shearwey Ooi Ying Ying - during initial police investigations.
Teh, 28, who is out on bail after being charged with drug offences and lying to police about her daughter's disappearance, said that even on the rare occasions that she does manage to sleep, she is troubled by images of Ying Ying.
'I keep thinking of Ying Ying, from the time when she was just a baby. She loved many of the same things I did - painting, dancing, singing and swimming. And we both liked pink.
'She loved to wear pretty dresses and have her hair tied up nicely,' the distraught mother told The Star newspaper. 'I have many of her things at home, and will keep some of them.'
Last Friday, Teh's live-in boyfriend, former karaoke lounge manager Ong Chee Leong, 28, was charged with Ying Ying's murder.
Teh was jointly charged with Ong with the possession of 1.5g of cannabis.
She is also charged with consuming methamphetamine and lodging a false missing persons report about Ying Ying.
At the time of Ying Ying's disappearance, she told police she left the toddler by her car near a market while she crossed the street to pay a parking ticket, and returned to find her gone.
During the Star interview, Teh was accompanied by her mother Ong Sea Wah, brother Teh Lien Wei and two lawyers. Teh's father and mother had disowned her at a news conference but they have since reconciled.
'I used to take Ying Ying swimming once a week, and twice a week we would go to McDonald's,' she recalled, between sobs.
'I would like to have more children someday,' she said.
Teh said both she and her daughter were born in the Year of the Goat. She said Ying Ying's birthday was on Oct 3 and she would think of something special to do.
Madam Ong said of her daughter's condition: 'Jess still wakes up crying in the middle of the night, and does not have much appetite.'
On the flurry of press reports, Teh said she had not read the newspapers over the past two weeks and had only heard from others about what had been written.
Abuse was hurled by some members of the public at Teh and her boyfriend when she attended the court sessions to have her remand extended three weeks ago.
Asked about her relationship with her husband Ooi Eng Chew, 29, Teh said they were in the midst of a divorce but he was still on talking terms with her family.
'He called up my brother for some of Ying Ying's clothes. We will give them to him.'
THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
No comments:
Post a Comment