'Why didn't the Gods protect my daughter': Father of M'sia teen who died after 1,000kg wooden beam fell on her while she was helping clean temple

The father of the 17-year-old girl in Malaysia who died after being struck by a 1,000kg beam while cleaning a temple recently recounted how the incident unfolded.

Speaking to Sin Chew Daily in an interview at his daughter's funeral hall on the afternoon of Apr. 8, 2026, Guo Chuiyi (transliteration) choked up several times and burst into tears while talking about what happened.

Changing lamp wick

Prior to his daughter's death, Guo said his father went to the temple almost every night for years to take care of things, including changing the lamp wicks and cleaning the environment.

However, since his father had difficulty moving around after suffering a stroke a few years ago, the whole family often went together to help.

Around 8pm on the night of the incident, Guo and his family visited the temple.

Beam hit daughter

About 15 minutes later, as his daughter, Guo Yujie (transliteration), was changing a lamp wick, a beam in the temple suddenly broke and hit her.

According to Sin Chew Daily, the teenage girl was helping to clean up the temple as her family was there performing duties.

The girl's mother said she heard a loud sound and saw that a beam had fallen on her daughter, who was lying in a pool of blood.

She said her daughter had no time to react.

The girl's father said that after the beam hit his daughter, he immediately rushed over and "held her in my arms."

He added that her hands were still trembling slightly, and she opened her eyes to look at him, "but she stopped breathing shortly afterwards".

"I collapsed on the spot."

Pride of the family

Calling his daughter the pride of the family, Guo said she was an excellent student and a filial daughter.

"Our family has done nothing wrong," he said.

"We help out at the temple every day, so why haven't the gods protected my daughter?" he asked.

Hopes temple will explain

In light of the incident, Guo hopes the temple's council can provide a clear explanation and find out the real reason for the beam's breakage.

He said that to his knowledge, the beam had only been installed for about four years, and found it necessary to further investigate its structural or quality issues to determine why it suddenly broke.

However, Guo said he did not blame the council.

The beam has since been placed outside the temple.

Cremation

Following the incident, the younger Guo's coffin was transported back to her home for a funeral service at around 2pm on Apr. 8.

Her funeral will subsequently be held on Apr. 10, after which a cremation will take place.

The temple has offered its condolences and said it will cooperate fully with the authorities.

Top photos via Sin Chew Daily