Victim’s wife and Indonesian concern group demand ‘truth’ behind shop fire

The shop where the accident took place

Leader of the Peduli Indonesian Migrant Concern Group, Cindry Purnasari, has called on Macau authorities to help find out the truth about a fire that broke out in a small boutique, killing four Southeast Asian migrant workers.
According to Purnasari’s sources, six people were living in the small attic above the shop, although the owner told police authorities that only their domestic helper was allowed to live there. These accounts have been confirmed by the wife of the Filipino victim, who was also living in the shop’s attic.
Ms Purnasari has been helping family members liaise with the Indonesian consulate and Macau authorities. The wife of an Indonesian man who died in the fire is now in Macau to deal with the relevant procedures; while the parents of an Indonesian woman, also killed, remain in Indonesia with her nine-year-old son.
“They are hoping to get the bodies transferred to their home country as soon as possible. They also want to know exactly what is going on and what happened, why the shop caught fire, and why they died. They really want to know more,” she stated.
Procedures to officially identify the victims are taking longer, as bodies were severely burnt and DNA tests are now required.
Angie Thomas, widow of the Filipino migrant revealed yesterday that she was also living above the shop. She told TDM that she had worked the night shift that day and went home at around 7.30 a.m. to find the house already burned.
“I’m still waiting for my husband and aunt’s bodies (…) I want justice for them; I really want the truth, [so people know] what happened,” she stressed, confirming that there were six people in total living above the shop. “Me, my husband, my auntie, two Indonesian girls, and one Indonesian boy.”
Ms Purnasari’s sources told her that all the migrant workers living above the shop were paying rent between MOP1,000 and MOP1,500. Angie Thomas confirmed that they were paying MOP1,800 to one of the Indonesian girls, and that she would then give the money collected to the shop owner.
Angie and her husband had arrived in Macau a few months before and had been living above the store for a month. “The Philippines Consulate is willing to help me now, and some people are also helping me because I didn’t have any clothes or  place to sleep. Some people are helping me and I am so thankful,” she said.
The shop owner told authorities that only their domestic helper was living above the boutique. “The truth is there were six people staying there and they were paying rent. The employer knew it was being rented,” Ms Purnasari stressed, adding that a close friend who lives nearby said the owner also lived in the neighborhood.
“We need to tell the truth. We need to tell that there were more people living there, that Melinda [as one of the Indonesian victims was known] was there, and helped employers run the business. We are hoping that authorities find out and tell the truth,” she stated.
Ms Purnasari said that the attic did not provide proper living conditions. “You can imagine that nobody could live in such a place, it’s a small shop. [Upstairs] it was a small room with only one staircase. Downstairs, it was a small shop with a lot of clothes. It’s a big road, a lot of buses passing by, everyone could see how the place was,” she said.
She had been at the shop once to buy summer clothes and Ms Purnasari said she couldn’t imagine how six people were living there. “With the smoke, it’s impossible to run. I really cannot imagine how someone could have survived a fire there.”
The leader of the Peduli Indonesian Migrant Concern Group has urged the administration to pay more attention to the living conditions of migrant workers.  She concluded by saying that they “want the government to be more concerned about our living conditions. Is [an accommodation allowance of] MOP500 enough? We just want a safe and healthy living environment.”
The fire broke out at the small boutique in the early hours of Wednesday last week, leaving four trapped inside. The Judiciary Police has confirmed that they all died of smoke inhalation. The four victims are two Indonesian (one male, one female) and two Filipino nationals. The Indonesian woman was a widow and leaves behind a nine-year-old son.