He had spoken to her just hours earlier on that fateful day. She seemed upbeat and was looking forward to returning home for the first time in seven years. Their daughter’s 11th birthday was only a day away.
Khotimah had come to Hong Kong to work as a domestic helper and raise money for her children’s education.
Watching the inferno from his home in Malang regency, East Java, Sutiono clung to hope that the fact his wife’s phone was ringing meant she was safe, despite her not answering. “I thought: ‘Well, her phone is still active, so she must be fine’.”
Struggling to fight off dark thoughts, Sutiono told himself Khotimah was probably busy looking after her ward, an elderly woman who might have been injured or traumatised after they evacuated their 11th-floor flat.
