Missing S'porean's wife seeks help on Greek TV

UPDATE

It has been just over a full week since Singaporean graduate medical student Kouk Leong Jin has gone missing in Greece.

His wife of less than three weeks, 29-year-old Seow Shu Ping, has flown to Athens with Kouk's brother and parents in search of him, and has appeared on Greek national television to make an appeal to the public.

In a 25-second soundbite of the Greek news bulletin (above), Seow tells local media that she and Kouk had been dating for seven years before getting married, and broke down in tears as she spoke, appealing for information or leads on his possible whereabouts.

Representing the Duke-National University of Singapore (NUS) graduate medical school, where Kouk is in his fourth year, was Craig Stenberg, an assistant professor who accompanied Seow and Kouk's family to Athens. He, too, appeared in the news report, saying, "(Kouk's) goal is to really help others, not only in Asia, but worldwide."

In the meantime, local Chinese media have reported sightings of men in parts of Athens, although none have been confirmed to be Kouk.

He was allegedly sighted in an unidentified old town in the capital, but those who saw him said they were unsure, and would need police assistance to verify the man's identity.

On Monday, local police reported sightings of a man resembling Kouk.

A female passerby, who claimed to have spotted him in Central Athens, called the police after seeing a poster of Kouk listed as a missing person.

"His clothes, height, weight all match. But we don't know for sure if it's him or not," said a local police spokesperson.

Representatives from the Singapore consulate in Athens have also accompanied Seow, his family and friends in the search, reported Shin Min Daily News.

It also said that the Singapore Medical Association has written to its counterpart in Greece to seek assistance.

The newspaper reported that alerts of Kouk's disappearance are being aired on Greek national television every hour, and that Greek police are sending between eight and 10 officers out each day to comb the streets of Athens for him.

Some are distributing photographs of the missing Singaporean while others are travelling around on motorbikes.

So far, the extensive attempts on the part of local police, as well as search groups Amber Alert and Smile of a Child have come to naught.

Yet, Greek police have told Lianhe Wanbao they "firmly believe" Kouk is still alive.

Explaining their insistence, a spokesperson told the paper that local police have so far found no evidence of possible accidents or mishap, that there have been sightings of him (albeit unconfirmed), and that there have been no records of Kouk checking into any of the local hospitals.

Friends of Kouk's have also posted messages on his missing person Facebook page, expressing their confidence that he would be fine. Having been a member of the NUS taekwondo team, many said Kouk was in good physical shape and would be able to protect himself.

Local media also reported that someone had checked in online for a flight to Singapore booked under his name.

A spokesman for the airline, Thai Airways, said on Tuesday an e-ticket was issued on 1 October but no one turned up at the Athens International Airport that afternoon.

The airline's system did not capture what time the Internet check-in was done or where the person had logged in from.

Kouk was scheduled to leave Athens on 1 October on a Thai Airways flight to Singapore via Bangkok.

But since then, no one has contacted the airline trying to re-book the flights, the Thai Airways spokesman added.

Greek police also told Shin Min Daily News that reports of an impostor checking in online for Kouk's flight back to Singapore were untrue, although it was not ascertained if that meant they were sure that it was Kouk himself who had checked in for his flight online.

Other incorrect reports that surfaced included Kouk renting a car while in Athens, and that he was in a "dangerous" area when he last used his mobile phone.

Singaporean media also reported that the Greek police are attempting to trace the person through his mobile phone's Internet Protocol address -- a unique number assigned to each device connected to the Internet.

Kouk, 28, a fourth-year student at the (Duke-NUS) Graduate Medical School, was supposed to present a paper at a medical conference last Wednesday, but he disappeared a day before it started.