Man collapses at football game, dies in
hospital
HE was playing his weekly football game when he collapsed
suddenly.
Within an hour, Mr Yussof Ishak, 46, was dead.
Coronary heart disease is believed to have been the cause of
death.
There were no warning signs before Mr Yussof, a technician in PSA
Corporation, collapsed at 7pm on Wednesday while playing football
with his team-mates from PSA Club.
They were playing on the club grounds at Bukit Chermin near
Telok Blangah.
Mr Yussof's wife, sales and marketing officer Masiah Joony, 43,
was at their five-room flat in Jurong West when she heard the
news.
She said: 'My husband's friend called me just after 7pm and told
me to go to Alexandra Hospital (AH). My youngest daughter was with
me at the time but I left her
at home as her sisters had not returned home yet.
'When I reached AH, the doctors were trying to revive him but
they told me they were not optimistic. After I learned that he had
died, I called my children and told them to meet me at AH.'
Mr Yussof had been with PSA since 1982.
His death was a shock as he loved sports and had no known health
problems, save for an inflamed right knee and a swollen palm.
He had also undergone an operation to remove gallstones in
2005.
However, Madam Masiah said her mother-in-law died of heart
disease at the age of 56, and two of her husband's uncles died of
the same disease in their 50s or 60s.
At their flat, she showed
One of his daughters looks at his trophies.
The New Paper her husband's trophies and medals, which were stored
in cabinets.
She said: 'He ate three meals daily but did not overeat. He
loved sports like football, bowling and badminton.
'Every year, he would bring home three or four trophies or
medals from inter-club and inter-port sports matches.'
Madam Masiah said that, with few exceptions, her husband played
football every Wednesday after work.
She said: 'He'd finish work an hour earlier, then change into
his football gear and head for the PSA Club. After the game, he'd
change and then pray before chatting with his friends and then head
for home.'
Her eldest child, Miss Nurul Taqiah, 18, said her father was a
fan of Manchester United football club and had dreamt of visiting
their home ground at Old Trafford.
She said through her tears: 'Football was his main sport. He
loved the game and we would watch football matches and comedies on
TV together.
'I am a fan of Liverpool football club and he would occasionally
try to persuade me to change sides.'
Miss Nurul Taqiah, who will begin studying Arts and Social
Sciences at the National University of Singapore in August, said
her greatest regret was that her father would not be around to see
her graduate.
She said: 'I would love to work in the Foreign Service but I did
not think that I could make it. But my father always encouraged me
to work hard and never to think about my problems but of how to get
the work done.'
Madam Masiah said her husband was a loving and kind man who
thought of others first and expected his family to do the same.
She said: 'Before leaving for work, he would hug and kiss the
children, even if they were still asleep. After returning home, we
would pray together and then have dinner before watching TV
together.
'We always exchanged words of love to each other. His death is a
great loss.'
Madam Masiah said the family went on holidays once or twice
annually, usually to visit her father-in-law's relatives in Kedah.
She said they had planned to visit Kuala Lumpur next week.
Her youngest child, Nurul Huda, 14, said: 'My father always
encouraged us never to give up in studies or life. He said that we
have come so far as a family and it would be a waste if we gave up
all we have worked for so far.
'He knew that I loved him very much. His death was too fast and
sudden.'
Hyperfocal, to be fair... you shouldn't take single cases here
and there to prove the point about population age...
1000 cases out of 4 million is still too small a percentage.
Even then, I still don't believe Singaporeans are living way
longer than 85 years old. Supposed it is 87 yrs old (unlikely),
it's impossible to believe that the govt who advocates kindness and
filial piety to old folks (to schoolchildren) cannot even take the
first step to support old folks for that extra 1 or 2 years of
lifespan, but instead, require them to buy annuity.