Pasir Ris deaths: Dead man was 'loving father' to stabbed special-needs daughter

SINGAPORE — Almost daily, 70-year-old Tang Soh Ha would stand by the kitchen window of his second-floor flat at Pasir Ris, and when his neighbours return home, he would wave to them.

Mr Tang, his wife and their daughter, Tang Hui Yee, 27, would also go on outings, appearing “like a happy family”, said a neighbour who only wanted to be known as Madam Aya, 58, on Monday (Aug 21).

On Sunday, tragedy struck the Tangs when Mr Tang was found dead at the foot of Block 560, Pasir Ris Street 51. 

The police said they were alerted to the incident at about 1.30pm. When officers arrived, they found Mr Tang’s body. Later, they found Ms Tang’s body in their second-floor unit at the same block.

Neighbours said Mr Tang and his wife had three children, two of whom are girls. The one who was found dead was the younger daughter. The couple, their three children, and their elder daughter’s husband and two children all live in that flat.

Neighbours said they have not seen anyone from the Tang household return to the flat since the tragedy on Sunday.

Those who knew the family, or had seen them around, were shocked by the news. 

Mdm Aya said the family had no airs about them. Recounting how Ms Tang would frequently wander around the void deck, Mdm Aya said that she was “a pleasant, quiet girl” who “never disturbed anyone, or anything”.

“The father really sayang (Malay for “love”) his daughter,” she said, adding that she believed Ms Tang had an intellectual disability.

A homemaker who wanted to be known only as Mdm Foo, 56, said she felt Mr Tang and his daughter had a strong relationship.

“(Mr Tang) was a loving father, and generally a nice neighbour ... this is very sad news to us,” she added in Mandarin.

When TODAY visited the block on Monday afternoon, nobody appeared to be in the Tangs’ home, which had the front door left slightly ajar.

The unit looked well-kept and undisturbed, with pictures of the family displayed in the living room.

A neighbour, Mdm Madhu, 45, said her brother was sleeping when he heard a loud thud on Sunday afternoon. “I thought someone threw something down,” the third-floor resident said. It was only when they saw police officers coming by that they realised what had happened.

Another neighbour, Mr Eric Tham, 49, said he had heard what sounded like “a sad wail”, coming from the block after the incident. He was unsure where it had come from.

Police investigations on the case are ongoing. The case has been classified as unnatural deaths.