KF Seetoh & family still unable to repatriate brother's body, pending investigation into Italy house explosion

Food writer KF Seetoh and his family are still waiting for the Italian government to issue a death certificate for his deceased brother.

Pre-Christmas tragedy

In a social media post dated Jan. 3, Seetoh revealed that it had been nearly a fortnight since his brother passed away in a deadly house explosion.

His brother, Seetoh Kwok Meng, 68, was killed on Dec. 21, 2024, in an explosion at his century-old holiday home in Tuscany, Italy.

Seetoh Kwok Meng’s wife, Chang Kai En, 52, was also in the house at the time of the explosion and remains believed to be hers were found in the house a few days later.

But despite nearly two weeks having passed since the incident, local authorities were as yet unable to issue a death certificate.

KF revealed in his post that this was due to the explosion having taken place immediately prior to the Christmas holidays, which in Italy is a full 12-day affair.

This means that Italian authorities are on holiday until Jan. 7.

Waiting for investigation to conclude

A local judge has decided that the incident requires an investigation into the cause of the blast to discern if there was anything "negligent or untoward” about it.

Because of this, Kwok Meng’s body is required to be held until the investigation is concluded, likely sometime after Jan. 7.

Despite the delay, KF did not blame Italian authorities, saying that “no one can control when these accidents can happen”.

Instead, he said that his family appreciated that they were working through the holidays in order to conclude the matter.

However, there was still no clear date when Kwok Meng’s remains can be repatriated, for final rites, and “grief and for closure”.

“It is quite unsettling for the family let alone rescheduling and making all the arrangements to go there for the retrieval process at short notice.”

Memorial for a neighbour

KF said that the family hopes for a quick end to the saga, adding that he is looking forward to meeting the friend his brother had made in Italy.

In an earlier post, KF shared how his brother had fallen in love with the Italian house in a small village in Tuscany and had bought it to be a “nice and peaceful retirement” house.

He shared how his sister-in-law had “loved her garden”, and noted that when the pair returned to Singapore, neighbours in the area would help them care for it.

It is likely these friends that he referred to in his Jan. 3 post, saying that he looked forward to meeting them and thanking them for their kindness to his brother and sister-in-law.

In the batch of photos he shared, including his brother’s wedding photo, and the three of them in happier times, was a picture of said friends remembering their neighbour just outside the ill-fated property.

The picture showed a group of people in winter clothes gathering outside the property’s gate to hold a memorial for the couple.

Another showed an electric remembrance candle, with bouquets of flowers tied to a fence.

KF also thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as Senior Minister of State Sim Ann for their assistance, as well as updating with their Italian counterparts.'

Related story

https://mothership.sg/2024/12/italy-house-explosion-kf-seetoh-brother

Top image via KF Seetoh/Facebook