NO loved ones rushed to his side at the Singapore General
Hospital after a car hit the 70-year-old not far from his
home.
Mr Lai Kem Pin (above) tidying Mr Chong's (below left) belongings,
most of them discarded items which Mr Chong had picked up. --HEDY
KHOO
No one cried for Mr Chong Shee Kian when he died from head injuries
less than three hours later.
And no one has claimed his body after a week.
His roommate of 11 years, Mr Lai Kem Pin, 71, did not even know Mr
Chong had died until this reporter informed him.
He said in Mandarin: 'The police woke me at 2am (on 14 Dec) and
told me my roommate was in hospital. But I didn't know who they
could call. They didn't say he was dead.'
Mr Lai thinks his roommate was a bachelor with no siblings. But he
is not sure.
The two men did not talk much and had very different habits.
Mr Chong's meagre belongings of empty boxes, old shampoo bottles
and items picked up from trash cans gave no clue to his
background.
Like many older people, Mr Chong cherished his independence and did
not reach out to others.
NOT REGISTERED
He did have his drinking buddies. Yet, none of them knew if he had
any relatives who should be informed of his death.
Mr Chong was not registered with The Redhill Moral Seniors Activity
Centre at Block 89. Those who register give information on their
medical condition, next-of-kin and financial status.
Volunteers check on registered residents in Blocks 89 and 90 if
they do not hear from them after two days.
Mr Chong sometimes left the flat by 9am to sell snacks by the
roadside.
He would become a 'hawker' whenever he used up his $260 welfare
money on cigarettes and beer before the month was up.
Other times, he would stay out the whole night after he had had too
much to drink and returned home only in the morning.
Fifth-floor neighbour Ho Soh Har, who has helped clean Mr Chong's
flat for five years, was stunned when he found out about his
death.
'Maybe he was going to meet his friends for supper when the car hit
him along Henderson Road,' said Mr Ho, 59, an odd job worker, in
Mandarin.
He found Mr Chong 'strange' as he would bring back 'rubbish', like
a broken pair of shoes or an almost empty tube of toothpaste.
And he would scold anyone who suggested throwing these items
out.
But Mr Ho eventually made friends with him.
'He told me once he had a grandson whom he visited during Chinese
New Year. He also said he belonged to a Zhang clan in Geylang that
would take care of him if anything happened to him.'
However, a check with several branches of Zhang clans, including
one in Geylang, showed they had no record of Mr Chong.
'If I had been around when the police came, I would have rushed to
SGH in a taxi to see if he had any last instructions,' said Mr
Ho.
'We'll wait 49 days, according to Chinese tradition, before
throwing his things away if no one comes to claim them.'
Mr Chong's unclaimed body is now at the mortuary at the Health
Sciences Authority.
Community organisations can arrange for unclaimed bodies to be
buried or cremated. Doctors can also ask for them for research and
teaching purposes under the Medical Act.
Call police
THE driver of the car is assisting the police in their
investigations.
Mr Chong's next-of-kin can call the police hotline at
1800-2550000.
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Many live alone
MR Chong Shee Kian was just one of Singapore's growing number of
people aged 65 years and above who are on their own.
There were 15,300 of them five years ago, according to the 2000
census. The number is expected to rise with an ageing population
and more people remaining single.
Elderly folks can join seniors' activity centres. Befriending
services, home help or medical care are also available.
Neighbours can reach out to elderly people too, especially those
who shy away from help