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Monday, 10 Oct, 2011
Messages from Dean Ranga Krishnan about Medical Student Missing in Athens
Monday, October 10, 2011, 5:30pm
It is now ten days since we were first alerted to the disappearance of our 4th year medical student Kouk Leong Jin by his family. Unfortunately, he remains missing in Athens, so the search and investigations continue.
We are extremely grateful to staff at the Singapore Consulate in Greece who, together with the Greek police, The Smile of the Child, the Greek public, news outlets and authorities, have all been working tirelessly on this difficult case.
The search is in good hands and we believe everything necessary that can be done is being done. We greatly appreciate the help of our Student Affairs Office senior administrator and the two Duke-NUS medical students who have contributed so much to assisting and supporting Leong Jin’s family in Athens.
We will update you if and when we are informed of any significant news on the case. I know many of us at Duke-NUS, his family and friends will continue to keep Leong Jin in our thoughts, and pray for his safe return.
Thank you.
Friday, October 7, 2011, 4.00 pm
This is a short note to assure the Duke-NUS community that the search for our missing student Kouk Leong Jin in Athens, Greece continues.
Although we have no significant updates, we tell ourselves to be patient and remain hopeful. Since the School was alerted last Saturday, the Greek Police, the people of Greece, Greek news outlets, The Smile of the Child, and staff of the Singapore Consulate in Greece have been galvanized and are working tirelessly to search for Leong Jin. We are deeply grateful for their efforts.
The investigation is in good hands. I firmly believe your continued thoughts, words of encouragement and prayers will uphold the family during this difficult time.
Thank you.
Thursday, October 6, 2011, 4.00 pm
It remains a very dynamic situation in Athens where an on-going search for our missing student Kouk Leong Jin is in progress. The updates we receive are from our team there, not the Greek authorities.
As the Greek Police are still investigating the case, the School does not know all the facts as they unravel. Duke-NUS is unable to provide any useful comments on the news of sightings of Leong Jin or other speculation.
I appeal to all friends, colleagues, students and media to allow things to unfold in Athens so that the police there can continue the investigation and search for Leong Jin.
As the search continues, we remain grateful to the Greek Police, the people of Greece, Greek news outlets, The Smile of the Child, and staff of the Singapore Consulate in Greece for their relentless efforts.
Like his family, we remain very concerned for Leong Jin and are hopeful that he will be located soon.
Please do not contact the family or our team in Athens direct. We remind members of the media to email corinna.cox@duke-nus.edu.sg.
Thank you.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011, 7.00 pm
An extensive search operation is underway in Athens, Greece, for our student, Kouk Leong Jin. His family had filed a missing persons report with the Singapore Police last Friday.
Since then, Leong Jin’s family and the Duke-NUS team who are on the ground in Athens are actively engaged with the relevant authorities. The Greek authorities have gathered, and continue to gather, information that is important for their investigations. I have been informed that the Greek Police are following up on a number of leads, and we are awaiting further updates.
Leong Jin’s family and the Duke-NUS team who are in Athens have received considerable assistance in our attempts to locate Leong Jin. We are especially grateful to the Greek Police, Greek news outlets, The Smile of the Child, and staff of the Singapore Consulate in Greece, among others.
We are especially heartened that all major news channels in Greece are carrying news of Leong Jin’s disappearance at regular frequency; and that the people are responding with assistance and leads to the Greek Police as a result of the news and alerts.
We also wish to thank our friends in Singapore as well as Duke-NUS faculty, staff and students who have been extremely supportive and forthcoming with assistance and advice.
It is important that the Greek authorities focus on their investigations.
If there is any information that you think will be helpful to the ongoing investigations, please write to: communications@duke-nus.edu.sg.
For members of the media, we would ask that you do not contact our team in Athens. Please email: corinna.cox@duke-nus.edu.sg.
Thank you.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011, 6.15pm
As intense work continues in Athens, Greece, to search for our fourth-year medical student, Kouk Leong Jin, who has been reported missing since last Tuesday, numerous messages of concern and support have come in from members of the public, the medical community and Leong Jin’s friends. There have also been offers of help from Singaporeans living in and around Athens.
My deepest appreciation to everyone who has shown kindness and extended their thoughtful help.
A concerted and coordinated search effort driven from Singapore and in Greece is now in progress.
There is now high awareness of the incident within Greece. Key Greek TV and radio, print and digital news channels have reported the news and the search alerts.
A prominent Greek NGO, The Smile of the Child, has activated Amber Alert Hellas. This is a high-level alert that reaches 51 public and private sector partner institutions.
Duke-NUS and Leong Jin’s family are fully engaged with the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the Singapore consulate in Greece, Greek and Singapore law enforcement agencies, and others.
Our senior administrator, who is a trained counsellor, has been on the ground since arriving in Athens on Sunday. He is supporting Leong Jin’s family members who are there and coordinating with local authorities. He is keeping close contact with the Duke-NUS emergency response team which I am leading.
Another Duke-NUS student, who is from Greece, has also joined the group in Athens, to provide ground assistance.
Collectively, the teams in Athens and Singapore are doing everything we can in our effort to find Leong Jin. The teams will provide updates on the situation when there are key developments.
In the meantime, I urge everyone to let the teams focus on the important mission at hand, to allow them to do what is necessary, and not complicate the situation.
In particular, we remind all media to contact Ms Corinna Cox at corinna.cox@duke-nus.edu.sg.
We hope and pray everything will turn out well. Please keep Leong Jin in your thoughts and prayers.
Thank you.
Sunday, October 2, 2011 20:00pm
Dear all,
We were very concerned to learn that the family members of one of our 4th year medical students traveling in Greece had not been able to contact him for several days. 28-year-old Singaporean Kouk Leong Jin had arrived in Greece on 26th September 2011 to present a research paper at a conference.
Vice-Dean for Education, Dr Robert Kamei, was informed by the student’s family early yesterday morning. We immediately activated an emergency response team led by myself, senior administrators, along with a representative from NUS, to explore every strategy to assist and help. Another Duke-NUS medical student who is presently in Athens is helping the family and Duke-NUS. Further, a senior administrator from Duke-NUS’ Student Affairs Office will soon arrive in Greece to assist the family in their search and work with the relevant authorities.
In the meantime, the family and Duke-NUS are working through the relevant channels to activate key international alerts in Greece, including broadcast, print and digital channels.
The safety and well-being of our students, staff and faculty are our top priorities at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore. The Chairman and Governing Board, faculty, staff and students of Duke-NUS who have been informed of this incident have shown their concern and extended their help where they can. Please continue to keep Leong Jin in your thoughts and prayers.
Individuals who may be able to offer assistance can write in to communications@duke-nus.edu.sg. We appeal to all media to contact Ms Corinna Cox at corinna.cox@duke-nus.edu.sg.
Thank you.