SINGAPORE - The home-grown songwriter of hits such as the 1986 duet Wu Yan De Jie Ju (Silent Ending) has died of brain cancer at the age of 61.

Weng Shunyu penned lyrics under the name Ka Si and was a former entertainment journalist for Shin Min Daily News.

His death was confirmed by his widow Madam Wu, who told the local Chinese evening daily that her husband died peacefully on Wednesday morning at about 5am.

The most enduring hit of Ka Si is Silent Ending - sung by Taiwanese singers Li Mao-shan and Lin Shu-jung. The 1986 album of the same name reportedly sold more than 250,000 copies.

His widow said that a malignant tumour was found in Ka Si's brain in 2018 and he underwent surgery in December that year, with treatments such as chemotherapy last year showing good results.

But his condition relapsed in March this year and had become worse in recent days.

Madam Wu added: "He's always been optimistic, very cool. We've been preparing for this for a while."