Taiwan earthquake: Missing Singaporean couple declared dead by authorities

Taiwanese authorities have issued death certificates for a Singaporean couple who went missing after a massive earthquake struck Hualien in April.

The pair should be presumed dead as they have not been found for over eight months, said the Hualien District Court.

According to a Taiwan News report on Tuesday (Dec 24), the court issued death certificates for Sim Hwee Kok and Neo Siew Choo, with the time of death marked as noon on April 3.

The couple's relatives, who recently visited Hualien, asked prosecutors to file a request for the death certificates, reported Central News Agency.

However, they expressed their wishes to Hualien authorities for the search to resume so they may seek closure.

In April, the family agreed to halt the search for the bodies after multiple attempts over 12 days did not yield any results, Taiwan News reported.

The couple was last seen alighting from a shuttle bus on April 3 at around 7.20am near a mountain trail in Hualien's Taroko National Park.

40 minutes later, a 7.2-magnitude quake hit the city.

At least 18 were killed, and over 1,000 injured in Taiwan's biggest earthquake in 25 years.

ALSO READ: Taiwan earthquake: Missing Singaporean couple last seen alighting from bus to sightsee that morning

aishahm@asiaone.com