Nepali man's teddy bear gift for daughter's birthday goes up in smoke

PETALING JAYA: A Nepalese worker's hopes of surprising his daughter with a teddy bear on her birthday were dashed when his home was gutted in a fire at Jalan 2/23 here today.

Prem (only one name available), 30, said the teddy bear and other gifts he had bought to be sent to his family back home could not be saved as the fire spread too fast.

"I just bought the teddy bear yesterday and was to have it couriered over on Monday in time for her birthday, but now it is not to be," he told Bernama at the scene.

Besides Prem, 39 other occupants of the shophouse, which serves as a hostel for Nepali workers, were displaced.

When the fire broke out, they were either working overtime at their workplaces or out sightseeing as today is Deepavali Day.
The fire which broke out at 11.30am razed two shophouses while two others were damaged.

Jalan Penchala Fire Station head Mohamad Akmal Mohamad Khairi said firemen managed to bring the blaze under control at 11.52am and extinguished it about an hour later.

"The fire spread rapidly because these are old structures. The cause and losses are under investigation," he said. — Bernama