SINGAPORE - Ms Chew Jia Tian, who died while kayaking off the coast of Sentosa on Sunday, was a soft-spoken, polite and hard-working student at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), where she earned her degree in nursing.

She was active in alumni activities and was an inspiration to the SIT community, said Associate Professor Elaine Siow, programme leader for the SIT nursing, health and social sciences cluster.

Prof Siow, who is also SIT assistant provost of student experience, said: “We are deeply saddened by SIT alumnus Chew Jia Tian’s passing and our thoughts are with her family and friends.”

She added that Ms Chew left an “indelible mark” on those who knew her.

Ms Chew’s LinkedIn profile shows that she graduated from SIT in 2016.

Ms Chew, 33, went missing at sea during a kayaking trip with three other kayakers on Sunday morning.

Her body was found off Sentosa at about 3pm on Tuesday by the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

She was a cat lover who made donations to projects such as Toa Payoh North Cats, which helps feed stray cats.

Toa Payoh North Cats founder Rina Li said: “I started the project in November 2019 and she was one of my first supporters and donors.

“When we first requested help with food donations, Jia Tian reached out and donated a generous sum to help me out.”

Later, Ms Chew raised more money by selling soaps made by her firm Rough Beauty, with a portion of takings going towards feeding the cats, added Ms Li.

“She was really generous, humble and kind,” said Ms Li, who works as a bank officer. “Friendly, even though she didn’t know me when she first reached out to help.”

Nurse Miaw Jen, who has known Ms Chew since they studied nursing at Nanyang Polytechnic and later worked together at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, said she was “humble and helpful”.

Ms Miaw Jen, 37, said: “She was a gentle, friendly and kind girl who was always willing to go the extra mile to help people and make things right.”

She added that even after they were no longer working together, Ms Chew always made the effort to stay in touch and they met whenever they could.

“She usually wore just a basic T-shirt and jeans – it was her plain, girl-next-door beauty that stood out.”

Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao reported in 2022 that Ms Chew founded Rough Beauty in 2014 – a boutique that specialises in making and selling natural, handcrafted bath and body products.

As a former nurse, she said she knew that frequent hand-washing could lead to dry skin, so she began paying attention to materials and production methods of skincare products, said the Lianhe Zaobao report.

In 2014, she went to Malaysia to learn soap-making after encouragement from a friend.

She started Rough Beauty that same year.

Mr Sim Cher Huey, founder of tour operator Kayakasia, said he and Ms Chew spontaneously decided to meet up last Saturday, after not having seen each other for more than a year.

They became friends after meeting through kayaking activities five years ago and went on a trip together in 2022 with Ms Chew’s husband and other friends.

She did not talk about her plan to go kayaking on Sunday when they met, said Mr Sim.

He added: “We talked about our trip, our past, next travel plans, and what was going on with her boutique soap business. She was like a wildflower, always eager, full of dreams and had so much to look forward to.

“I, like many of her friends, will miss her dearly.”