THE Shanghai-born housewife who fell to her death with her young daughter in Bukit Batok spoke rarely to neighbours but was a devoted mother. Former neighbours painted this picture of 46-year-old He Xuejing, who had fallen from the bedroom window of her 12th-storey executive flat last Friday (15 Apr 2011) morning, with her nine-year- old daughter Bao Peiqin in tow.
The husband is a researcher working at research body Institute of Infocomm Research. Madam He XueJing, 46, had been in Singapore for almost 10 years and it looks like the reason behind the suicide is likely due to adjustment difficulty esp uncomfortable with speaking in English according to a report from The Straits Times. Neighbours said that the woman kept to herself and never said “Hi” to anyone when they met.
This may be an isolated case but it serves as a good reminder to would-be new immigrants: Is grass necessary better over at the other side? Can the family members cope? Will they be happier here?
At the other end of the spectrum is the foreign brides that married into Singapore as reported in The Straits Times Apr 30 “In Sickness and in death”, is the plights and vulnerability of foreign brides. The National Population Secretariat statistics showed that in 2009, 41% of Singaporeans married the foreigners. Of which 78% were local grooms and foreign brides and the figure is likely to be higher as some marriages are registered abroad. Foreign brides on long term visit pass cannot work to support themselves and if something happens to their Singaporean husbands, they are left to fend for themselves without much social net to fall back on.
Bedok Reservoir body identified as China national’s
The partial decomposing body found in Bedok Reservoir last month has been identified as that of 23-year-old China national Lin Xiao, the police said yesterday.
Mr Lin, who left his Zhejiang province home about eight months ago to work here as an apprentice at Lee Sheng Motor Works, went missing in late April.
His lower torso – clad in blue jeans – was found in the reservoir on June 20, sparking a search by the police’s Special Operations Command and the Naval Diving Unit for several hours.
His mother told MediaCorp the police were still trying to locate the other part of her son’s body.
She went to the police when Mr Lin did not return to their Chai Chee flat after leaving at about 8am on April 28. She told reporters her son had complained about stress earlier that month and expressed regret about coming to Singapore. Ng Lian Cheong and Satish Cheney
SINGAPORE – A troubled marriage that left a Malaysian couple dead in March, almost claimed the lives of their two children as well.
The double tragedy at Bedok North Road happened after Teng Chu Leong, 37, and his wife, Madam Tan Bee Chan, 33, were unable to solve their marital problems.
Their two daughters, aged 8 and 10, were only spared when their father, who would go on to kill their mother and himself, had a change of heart only hours before the tragic events.
The Coroner’s Court heard yesterday that investigations revealed that the couple, married since 1998, had marital problems and had fought frequently.
Teng, a former odd-job labourer in Malaysia, also suspected his wife, who worked as a stock-taker at a supermarket, of having an extra-marital affair with a colleague.
Sometime after the Chinese New Year period last year, Mdm Tan requested a divorce because she no longer had feelings for Teng.
She also told him that she did not want custody of their daughters.
Teng rejected her request and started harbouring thoughts of suicide.
The court heard that, after Mdm Tan initiated the divorce, the couple had frequent arguments about it and over the custody of their children.
A few weeks later, on March 18 last year, Teng told his sister-in-law, Ms Tan Bee Hong, that he wanted to die with his two children if he could not get to the truth about his wife’s supposed affair.
Teng even asked his children if they wanted to die but later told them not to die with him as they were still young.
Later that evening, Teng met with his sister-in-law at Block 75, Bedok North Road, where he handed over the two children. He asked her to look after them.
Soon after, she heard a loud thud from outside her window and saw Teng lying at the foot of the block.
Mdm Tan was later found lying motionless at the 12th floor lift lobby.
Teng was pronounced dead at 6.50pm and his wife shortly after at 7.10pm.
An autopsy report by Dr Wee Keng Poh, the principal consultant forensic pathologist of the Health Sciences Authority, said Teng died from multiple injuries due to a fall from height, while his wife died from acute bleeding from stab wounds to the chest with a knife.
State Coroner Victor Yeo noted that Teng had stabbed Mdm Tan and then fallen from the 12th floor.
MediaCorp understands that their two children are now with their extended family in Malaysia.
Some foreign wives on long-term visit passes are finding that life is fraught with uncertainty and anxiety. Putting their Singapore-born children through school, food on the table, a roof over their heads, or even just staying in the country – these are just some of daily battles they face.
Family Service Centres (FSCs) which MediaCorp spoke to are seeing an increase in the number of foreign wives seeking assistance.
According to the FSCs, the husbands of some of the women seeking help have either died or are in jail. Others have been abandoned by their husbands.
A jobless man was yesterday charged with murdering his wife in a flat at Block 441B, Fernvale Road in Sengkang, on Wednesday.
Singaporean Lee Show Fui, 32, is accused of killing his coffeeshop assistant wife, Mdm Tang Shi Fang, 37, between 9am and 4pm that day.
MediaCorp understands that Mdm Tang was a China national who later became a Singapore citizen.
Lee appeared in court in a green top and a pair of dark-coloured bermudas. He told the court he did not murder his wife.
Lee is now remanded at Central Police Division and will be back in court next Friday. If convicted of murder, he will face the death penalty. SHAFFIQ ALKHATIB
Woman, daughter believed to have fallen 16 floors
Source: Yahoo! News Jan 1, 2012
A Bangladeshi woman and her daughter were buried Saturday at the Choa Chu Kang Muslim Cemetery after they were found dead at the foot of a block of HDB flats in Jurong West the day before.
45-year-old Rabeya Khatun and her four-year-old daughter were believed to have fallen 16 floors from Block 695B, Jurong West Street 65, the building beside the block they lived in, reported The Sunday Times (ST).
The same paper reported that Khatun was found on Friday afternoon wearing a pale-coloured long tunic and trousers, while her daughter was dressed in a red top. The two were pronounced dead by paramedics at 3:01pm, after police received a call about them at 2:45pm.
On the 16th floor of the block, where the two were believed to have fallen from, an abandoned chair was found next to the parapet with a plastic bag containing sheets of paper and documents hanging from it, reported the broadsheet.
A note was also attached to the outside of the bag, which read in broken English, “Please this on give policeman. There have some paper.” The newspaper reported that no suicide notes were found in the bag, however.
Khatun’s husband, Jurong shipyard electrical engineer Abdul Quddus, who is a permanent resident in his 40s, was said to be devastated by the loss of his wife and only child, crying at their burial service, which was attended by about 150 people, ST reported . (Read more)
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