Her cousin supposed to be wed next year too
She may have to postpone wedding

• Irin Gan's granny dies after freak mishap
• She was in coma for 19 days, didn't regain consciousness
• Nearly 100 Jurong JC students visited her in hospital

By Wendy Teo
December 06, 2007

HER grandmother had been so excited about Irin Gan's wedding next year that she was talking about making new clothes for the special occasion.



But now, the clothes will never be sewn and Irin's wedding may be postponed.

Madam Li Jin Hua, 82, died on 24 Nov after a freak accident which left her in a coma for 19 days.

On 6 Nov, Madam Li was at Jurong Junior College's canteen helping out at her daughter's - Irin's mother - chicken rice stall when a student collided into her.

She fell and hit her head on the floor.

Irin's uncle, renovation contractor Koh Suan Lai, told The New Paper that blood streamed out of her left ear and there was also a 3.8cm-wide swelling above that ear.

An operation was done to drain blood accumulated in the swelling in Madam Li's head.

But she died from a lung infection without regaining consciousness.

Her funeral was held last Wednesday.

Madam Li's death devastated her family, who were planning for a double celebration next year.

Mr Koh said that besides Irin, her cousin was also planning to get married.

He said: 'They were planning for one of the weddings to be at the beginning of the year and the other at the end of the year. But it hasn't been decided who will take which slot and I guess things might now have to change with my mother's death.'

Irin, a former actress, did not respond to our requests for an interview.

Mr Koh was reluctant to reveal much about his niece's impending wedding, saying that she is a private person.

FIANCE RAYMOND TING
But on Madam Li's obituary published in Lianhe Zaobao on 26 Nov, a Raymond Ting was named as Irin's fiance.

Coincidentally, Irin's first husband was also a Mr Ting. She married businessman Steve Ting in 1998 but the marriage broke up two years later.

Mr Koh said that Irin has been dating her fiance for 'four or five years' and she is 'happy and doing well now' after quitting showbiz in 2003 when her contract with the former MediaWorks ended.

He said Irin was very close to her grandmother as she was the eldest grandchild and Madam Li was her primary caregiver while Irin's mother worked.

And Madam Li also doted on Irin.

Mr Koh recalled: 'When Irin was in Primary 1, I remember my mother accompanying her to school every day and waiting outside the classroom for her lessons to end. This went on for the whole year.

'I guess she was just concerned about Irin and wanted to make sure nothing happened to her.'

Mr Koh added that in return, Irin was a filial granddaughter who frequently took Madam Li on trips to Bangkok, as the old lady loved travelling.

The two also met up for meals frequently.

But as much as the family is grieving over Madam Li's sudden death, Mr Koh stressed that they did not blame the student.

'It's not his fault, it's just an unfortunate incident. I know that he is traumatised by it too.'

BOY CRIES AT WAKE
He said that the boy had gone to Madam Li's wake twice accompanied by his mother and was crying.

When The New Paper called the school, an administrative staff said that the school was trying to put the incident behind them and declined to comment further.

But the principal had told Lianhe Wanbao earlier that the boy was so upset over the incident that the school was planning counselling sessions for him.

Madam Li was a familiar figure at Jurong Junior College.

She was there most days from 6am to 7pm. During her hospitalisation, the well-loved 'Ah Ma' (grandmother in Chinese) was visited by nearly 100 students, who streamed into the intensive care unit in pairs.

At the wake, the students and staff, as well as former students 'from as long ago as 1989' turned up.

But Madam Li was not just popular within the school.

According to Mr Koh, a worker from the neighbourhood supermarket turned up at the wake one day and started crying uncontrollably.

The woman told Mr Koh that his mother would buy food from the supermarket and treat the staff.

But as she was worried that their boss might accuse them of stealing food from the supermarket, Madam Li made sure she sat with them until they finished eating. If the boss asks, she can produce the receipt as proof, she figured.

Mr Koh said: 'We didn't even know these things about her. But we are thankful to every one, especially from the school, who remembered her so dearly.'