IPOH: A fire at an entertainment centre here yesterday resulted in the deaths of six people, three of them foreigners and one person yet to be identified, according to the Perak Fire & Rescue Department.
Two other people were critically injured while seven people were safe in the blaze that occurred at 5.40 am on the fourth floor of an eight-storey building in Jalan Raja Dr Nazrin Shah here, said department acting director Sayani Saidon.
Four of the dead were men, identified as Malaysians Tai Chee Kin, 37, and Lau Wai Hoong, 36, one a Bangladeshi and the fourth had yet to be identified, she said.
Two others who died were Vietnamese women, identified as Ngu Yen Thi Trang, 19, and Ngu Yen Thi Thuy Dhong, 21, she pointed out.
One of the two critically injured people is a Malaysian man, identified as Ng Kook Eng, 39, while the other had yet to be identified, Sayani said, adding that both of them had been admitted to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital here.
Sayani said the department was alerted about the fire at 5.49am and rushed firefighters to the location in 10 minutes.
The bodies of Tai and Lau were found near the exit of the premises at 6.09 am, she said.
“Four bodies were in one of the karaoke lounges. Three of these bodies, one of a woman, were found in the washroom and the body of the other woman was just outside the lounge,” she told a press conference yesterday at the location.
Sayani said it is believed that those who died suffered breathing difficulty due to the thick smoke that filled the premises.
Asked whether a plan was approved for the entertainment centre at the eight-storey building which was once an office building, Sayani said the department would check that out.
“The original plan (with the department) is of office premises complete with smoke detectors but it has now changed to an entertainment centre.
“We will determine whether the owner had submitted a fresh plan for modified use (of the premises),” she said.
Meanwhile, Ipoh District Police deputy chief (administration) Supt Mohd Nordin Abdullah said the police would investigate whether the entertainment centre had operated beyond the specified hours of up to 1 am.
He also said that the centre had a valid entertainment centre licence. – Bernama
