SEPANG, March 10 — Tan Ku Leng said her husband, Stanley Wong Sai Sang, was not supposed to be on Flight MH370.

She said Wong had missed an earlier flight and was forced to board the Malaysia Airlines plane that departed KL International Airport at 12.41am on Saturday.

“He missed his flight last night (Friday) and bought another ticket to be on the next flight to Beijing,” Tan said at KL International Airport.

She said Wong, a senior marketing manager, flew to Beijing with two colleagues to promote their company’s products.

“He turned 52 yesterday (Friday) but he did not celebrate his birthday with us as he had to head straight to the airport after work. I spoke to him briefly and he was scheduled to return on Monday.”

Former Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu was present to lend support to Wong’s family.

He said he and Wong studied together at Sekolah Menengah Raub, Pahang.

“I was attending a meeting in Shah Alam when I saw his name on the passenger list. I rushed to the airport to be with his family,” Liu said.

“I wished him happy birthday on Wednesday and he replied via Facebook. That was the last I heard from him.”