26-1-2025 (SINGAPORE) Authorities have confirmed that human remains discovered in Taiwan’s Hualien county belong to Singapore national Mr Sim Hwee Kok, who went missing during last year’s devastating earthquake.
A local resident made the discovery on 11 January whilst walking along the Shakadang Trail, where Mr Sim and his partner, Ms Neo Siew Choo, were last seen before the catastrophic 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck on 3 April 2024.
The discoverer, a 59-year-old man identified only as Mr Wang, spotted what appeared to be human remains on a riverbed beneath a landslide area. Following the discovery, local police conducted extensive searches but found no additional remains in the vicinity.
Forensic examination identified the remains as a human hip bone, which was subsequently transferred to Hualien’s district court for further analysis. DNA testing conducted on 24 January conclusively matched the remains to samples provided by Mr Sim’s son, who had previously travelled to Taiwan in the aftermath of the earthquake to search for his father.
Mr Sim and Ms Neo were captured on CCTV disembarking from a bus near the Shakadang Trail at approximately 7:20 am on the day of the disaster, roughly 40 minutes before the earthquake struck. They were the only individuals still unaccounted for following the natural disaster.
Investigators believe the couple were caught in a landslide during the earthquake, with Mr Sim’s remains being swept into a ravine by the combination of debris flow and river currents. The district court has announced it will contact Mr Sim’s family regarding arrangements for the retrieval of his remains.
This discovery comes just weeks after Taiwanese authorities issued death certificates for both Mr Sim and Ms Neo in December 2024, following months of unsuccessful search efforts. The certificates officially recorded their time of death as noon on 3 April.
The earthquake, recorded as Taiwan’s most powerful in 25 years, triggered widespread devastation across Hualien county, resulting in 18 confirmed fatalities and over 1,000 injuries. The initial tremor was followed by more than 1,100 aftershocks, causing significant infrastructure damage, including blocked roads and severely damaged buildings throughout Hualien city.
The district court is now coordinating with Singaporean authorities to facilitate the repatriation process for Mr Sim’s remains.
