Declare missing man dead: Family
By Shaffiq Alkhatib and Elizabeth Law
The New Paper
Friday, Nov 09, 2012
SINGAPORE - More than 25 years have passed since his wife and children last saw or heard from him. Mr Ong Eng Song, who was then 53 years old, had disappeared without a trace.
On Oct 1, his third child, Mr Ong Meng Choon, filed an affidavit in court to declare his father dead.
Affidavits by his five siblings and their mother, Madam Soh Qwee Hoi, asking the court to grant Mr Ong Meng Choon's order, were also filed that day.
Based on court documents, Mr Ong left home at 9.30am on June 28, 1987, after telling his wife and children that he wanted to go for a walk at East Coast Park.
He did not return home.
Mr Ong Meng Choon stated that his mother, who is now 78 years old, made a police report about his father's disappearance at Joo Chiat Police Station the next day.
His affidavit also stated that in the past 25 years, his mother and siblings have been asking "everybody" who knew his father whether they had seen or heard from him.
All of them replied that they had not.
He also said in his affidavit that his father was the sole proprietor of Eng Song Construction. Its business licence was cancelled on Jan 23, 2003.
His mother's police report, which was attached to the court documents, stated that Mr Ong was last seen wearing a brown shirt with brown pants.
He was also carrying a pager.
The police report said that Mr Ong had been "very depressed" and his family members had conducted a search for him, but to no avail.
Mr Ong Meng Choon added in the affidavit that he discovered his father had made a will dated March5, 1987. A copy of the will was also attached to the affidavit.
The will named two sons, Mr Ong Meng Choon and Mr Ong Meng Lee, as its executors and trustees. Mr Ong also bequeathed a property at Yio Chu Kang Road to the two men in "equal shares".
Madam Soh said in her affidavit that she married MrOng in 1955 according to Chinese custom and they had no marriage certificate.
The last effort to find her husband was in August this year, during a family gathering on the Chinese lunar seventh month.
Madam Soh said it was later agreed that Mr Ong Meng Choon should make an application to the court to declare her husband dead.
She added that the family had never encountered any financial problems and that her husband had been generous to her and their children.
She said he had loved his children and doted on them.
When he disappeared in 1987, she recalled, he left her with sufficient money.
Their family was a loving one and she did not believe he had abandoned them.
He was 'feeling unwell'
Around the time her husband disappeared, he was "feeling unwell and quite depressed", she said.
She said she had asked him if he was suffering from any medical illness, but he did not answer her.
Madam Soh said she would now like to settle this chapter of her life by obtaining a court order declaring her husband dead.
She also wants to see the Yio Chu Kang Road property transferred to her two sons.
Madam Soh said they were not able to apply for probate without a court order.
According to the Supreme Court website, a grant of probate is a court order given to the executor appointed by the deceased in his will to administer his estate.
The New Paper visited the property at Yio Chu Kang Road and found that it is a two-storey shophouse.
The shop below, Lee Choon Construction and Trading, sold hardware and construction-related equipment.
Tins of paint and items like lawn mowers were spotted in the shop, which had three people inside. But they declined to comment on the matter, citing the need for privacy.
There were also signs of a family living on the upper level, and an elderly woman was seen on the balcony.
The case is pending.
Such cases are 'uncommon'
Cases of family members declaring their missing loved ones dead are not common, two lawyers told The New Paper.
Mr Chia Boon Teck said this is because in cases where missing persons have died, their bodies are usually recovered.
And forensic science today makes the identification of bodies easy and accurate.
He added: "It is also uncommon for a person to just uproot, disappear and leave everything behind."
In his 18 years of practice, Mr Chia has handled only one such case.
He explained that Section 110 of the Evidence Act allows family members of missing persons to move on with their lives.
Mr Chia said: "For example, if a person goes missing from a capsized boat, he cannot be declared dead if his body is not found.
"Yet, as far as the family is concerned, they know that in all likelihood, he has drowned."
The law allows the family to apply to court after sevenyears for a declaration that he is dead so that they can administer his estate.
Otherwise, his assets and accounts remain frozen and out of reach of the family.
Another lawyer, Ms Rina Kalpanath, said that in her 18 years of practice, she has handled only two such cases. Her last case was two years ago.
She said: "When a spouse goes missing, there are two options - divorce or presumption of death.
"A presumption of death is more beneficial because of the right of survivorship."
Right of survivorship means that the dead person's assets can be divided among his spouse and children, or if there is no spouse or children, the person's parents.
"Many turn to this option when there are things like assets and property involved, because such matters can't be left dangling for too long," she said.
