The Singaporean businesswoman, found dead in her Hong Kong hotel room, had called her children on Saturday morning, just before her death.

Ms Linda Koh, who was due to be home later that evening, had asked her four-year-old daughter and six-year-old son if they were going to pick her up at the airport.

But the divorcee never made it back. The 36-year-old, who arrived in Hong Kong last Wednesday, died of a stroke, preliminary investigations have revealed.

Ms Koh was a managing director and successor to family-run business KSP Marketing which specialises in processing pork and other chilled or frozen meat products.

She was found unconscious in her hotel room in Hong Kong while on a business trip.

The children cried on Thursday when told about their mother's death. Ms Koh's body was brought back to Singapore later that night.

Ms Koh, who lived with her parents and children in a Housing Board flat in Woodlands, called home daily while she was in Hong Kong. The last time the family heard from her was when she phoned home on the morning of her death.

Ms Koh's father, Mr Alan Koh, 74, told The Straits Times that his eldest daughter seemed well before the trip. Ms Koh has two younger siblings.

"I don't understand how this could have happened," Mr Koh said, adding that his daughter had a history of high blood pressure but was on medication.

Mr Koh said his daughter worked hard for the company. "I was training her up and planned to let her run the show," he added.

Yesterday evening, more than 300 relatives and friends turned up at Ms Koh's wake in Woodlands Street 11. They remembered Ms Koh as an affable and humble woman, who was well-liked by the people who knew her.

Mr Joel Tan, 35, a friend of Ms Koh's, said: "It is heartbreaking. Nobody expected this. But we want to remember her for being jovial and as someone who genuinely cares about those around her."

Ms Koh was found unconscious in her room after having breakfast with friends last Saturday morning. She was taken to the Queen Mary Hospital, but died soon after, according to Shin Min Daily News.