Pasir Ris deaths: In life as in death, father and daughter were inseparable

Father doted on younger daughter, say neighbours of duo found dead on Sunday

Mr Tang Soh Ha and his daughter Tang Hui Yee. On Sunday, Mr Tang was found dead at the foot of his block, while Ms Tang was found dead in their flat, with stab wounds on her body, including the neck.
Mr Tang Soh Ha and his daughter Tang Hui Yee. On Sunday, Mr Tang was found dead at the foot of his block, while Ms Tang was found dead in their flat, with stab wounds on her body, including the neck. PHOTO: FACEBOOK

They were inseparable in life, as they were in death.

For years, neighbours saw Mr Tang Soh Ha and his daughter Tang Hui Yee walking together in the Pasir Ris neighbourhood where they lived. The 70-year-old was an attentive father and never allowed his daughter, the younger of two girls, out of his sight.

On Sunday afternoon, Mr Tang was found dead at the foot of Block 560, Pasir Ris Street 51, where he and Ms Tang, 27, lived. Upstairs, in their second-storey flat, police found Ms Tang dead with stab wounds on her body, including the neck.

Ms Tang was a client of the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore and is believed to have lived in the flat with her parents, two siblings, brother-in-law, and her sister's two children.

On Sunday, police cordoned off a section of the corridor on the eighth storey. The Straits Times understands it was where the man fell from.

The father and daughter had a loving relationship, said neighbours as they tried to make sense of the double tragedy.

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A 51-year-old housewife, who wanted to be known only as Madam Faridah, said: "Their relationship was very good. I have never seen a father who was so doting towards his daughter."

The young woman was independent and friendly, she added, and "wherever she went, her father would accompany her".

Madam Faridah, who has lived in the same block as the Tangs for four years, said they had an active lifestyle, and the man would often go cycling or swimming.

Madam Faridah's sister, who has lived on the same street for about 17 years, had seen Mr Tang take his daughter out for strolls since she was a little girl. "My sister told me that when Ms Tang was young, the two of them always went to the park together," she said.

Added Madam Faridah: "He was very polite... He never showed any signs of stress and would often be smiling."

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary on Sunday, until about 1.25pm, when her husband was downstairs. That was when he saw Mr Tang on the ground. He had heard a loud noise earlier but thought someone had thrown a piece of furniture from a flat.

Neighbours later heard his wife wailing.

According to records from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Mr Tang was a businessman who once owned a toy shop.

Another neighbour, who wanted to be known only as Mr Cheah, said he saw Mr Tang's elder daughter and son-in-law going out with their children before the tragedy. The 66-year-old retiree said he did not know if anyone else was home at the time of the incident.

He said: "We were very sad when we heard the news because Mr Tang was always a very nice man, and the main caregiver of his daughter."

The case has been classified as unnatural death and police investigations are ongoing.

When ST visited the flat yesterday, no one answered the door. On Sunday night, a man believed to be the son-in-law was seen leaving the unit with several bags.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 22, 2017, with the headline Pasir Ris deaths: In life as in death, father and daughter were inseparable. Subscribe