Mobile call a ring of false hope in heartbreaking search for daughter

James Wong Shing-shun, the father of missing Hong Kong teacher Rubina Wong Carmen, 25, who was swept away on Phi Phi island, was given false hope yesterday when his mobile rang.

'I got this call from an anonymous western man, saying he saw my daughter at the Bangkok Phuket Hospital and that she had lost her memory,' Mr Wong said. 'But I could not find her there.'

Matters did not improve when Mr Wong went to Patong Beach, which was hit hard by the disaster, but was forced to abandon his search when a new tsunami alert was issued.

He spent the rest of the day looking for his daughter in Phuket's hospitals.

'I even went to nearby shops to ask. Although the people there did not know me they have been very kind,' Mr Wong said.

His daughter's Canadian boyfriend, Michael Lang, and members of the Canadian government's rescue team also joined the search for Ms Wong, whose elder sister and her husband were due to arrive in Phuket last night after looking for leads in Bangkok.

Mr Wong had said earlier he was confident of his daughter's ability to look after herself as she had learned survival skills when she worked in Alaska.