http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,172891,00.html?
FACE OF SIA WAS KAMPUNG GIRL
By Karen Wong
August 11, 2008
SHE struggled with a tumultuous marriage, then a divorce.
Happier times: Madam Lim with her sporty Toyota in late 1970s or early 1980s; --
Later on in life, she got a second chance at love, before she died abruptly.
She was just 51.
Madam Lim Bee Bee's life story resembled a soap opera.
From her humble kampung girl beginnings, she went on to become the face of Singapore Girl, then the boss of a hair salon.
Through sweat and toil, she became a successful businesswoman and a savvy investor.
When she died, Madam Lim left behind a business, estimated to be worth about $1 million, and some A$243,000 ($344,000) in a time-deposit account.
The money in the account became the subject of a legal dispute between her nephew, Mr Kelvin Lim Chen Yeow, and boyfriend, Mr Thomas Goh Chin Peng, 51.
It made newspaper headlines earlier this week.
So, who was Madam Lim Bee Bee?
Flipping through the yellowed pages of her photo album, which is still kept at the salon's reception cabinet even though she had died over 11/2 years back, you get a glimpse of the kind of life she led.
YOUNGEST IN FAMILY
Her sister-in-law, Madam Molly Neo, 56, the widow of her brother, told The New Paper on Sunday that Madam Lim grew up in a kampung in Hougang.
Born in 1955, Madam Lim has two brothers and a sister and is the youngest in her family. When she was a teenager, her mother died.
Madam Neo said: 'When I first knew her, she was still wearing pigtails.'
Madam Lim later lived in a three-room Circuit Road flat with her father and her brother Wee Kim's family.
The son of that brother and Madam Neo, Mr Kelvin Lim, now 34, later became Madam Lim's godson.
When Madam Lim was 18 years old, she joined the then fledgling Singapore Airlines as an air stewardess. In her album, there was a photo of her wearing SIA's trademark blue kebaya and a Mona Lisa smile.
She was the poster girl for SIA in the early '70s and her face was familiar to many.
Famous: The late Madam Lim Bee Bee was the face of SIA in the 1970s. Her cardboard cut-out, which she kept in her flat, was displayed in most shopping centres. Her nephew and godson, Kelvin Lim, looking at album photos. picture: Choo Chwee Hua
In 1976, she married Mr Michael Cheong, an air steward. He was the love of her life. (See other report on page8)
While she spent a lot of time flying, Madam Lim's head was not in the clouds - she was planning her future.
Realising that the 'shelf life' of her stewardess career would be short, she saved up for another that would last.
A couple of years later, she left SIA and went to London, where she attended hairdressing master classes.
When she returned to Singapore, she used her savings and money borrowed from an aunt and close friends to start her own hair salon called Matchpoint, located at a shophouse off Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1.
When she was not working, Madam Lim enjoyed spending time with her man. There are photos of her and her husband taken in late 1970s or early 1980s, showing them in happier times.
They stood next to a Porsche, her long hair is flying in the wind, her eyes are gazing in a distance, and her svelte body was wrapped in a tight black T-shirt and leggings.
In another photo, she was wearing sunglasses, posing next to a red Japanese sports car.
Madam Lim's brother, Wee Kim, died suddenly at just 29, leaving behind Madam Neo and their 7-year-old son.
'She was very sad when her brother died suddenly,' Madam Neo recalled. 'So she treated our son as if he was hers. Many of our customers used to think that Kelvin was her child.'
Madam Lim when she was in Japan with boyfriend Thomas Goh, a few years back; another one of her photos.
BUBBLY HAIRSTYLIST
Matchpoint was run like a family business.
There are shots of Madam Lim, perhaps in her early 30s, as a hairstylist in action, her face all lit up in the middle of a conversation, even as she worked on the customer's hair.
She was vivacious and bubbly.
One of her long-time customers, who wanted to be known only as Madam Tan, said: 'Sometimes, she gave us free treatments or highlights.'
Madam Neo helped out at the salon and also cooked for the family and the shop's employees. For that, she got a gratuity of about $250 a month, which was later increased to $450 a month.
Madam Neo's son, Mr Lim, spent much of his childhood at the shop. And Madam Lim, who did not want children of her own, indulged him.
She would buy him gifts when she travelled abroad and, in 2005, even sponsored his hairdressing course in Shanghai's Vidal Sassoon Academy, he said.
Mr Lim said: 'She was my mentor. She was a very strong woman.'
LIKES JAPANESE FOOD
Madam Lim was always well-put-together. She liked nice clothes, Madam Neo said, though they did not necessarily have to be branded.
While Madam Lim liked the homecooked chilli crabs that Madam Neo made, Madam Lim also had a taste for fine food.
She liked Japanese cuisine, Mr Lim said, and one of her favourite restaurants was Shima at Goodwood Park Hotel.
She also enjoyed going for high tea, and liked durian puffs.
But she also looked after her health. She went brisk-walking, attended taiji classes, and took health supplements.
With her savings, she bought an apartment in Sydney in 1994, which she then rented out.
She used the rental income to support her elder sister's two children's education in Australia.
In late 2003, Madam Lim sold the flat for a profit and gave A$50,000 to her elder sister and put the rest in an Australian-dollar account to earn a higher interest.
FAILED MARRIAGE
But while the salon business did well, Madam Lim's marriage did not.
She had a stormy relationship with Mr Cheong and they divorced in 1987.
Mr Lim said that even after their divorce, they were still good friends. They would live together for short periods and often had meals together.
In 1999, Madam Lim changed her will to give everything she owned to Mr Lim, whom she also appointed as sole executor and trustee of her estate.
She had previously willed everything to Mr Cheong.
In late 2002, Madam Lim had a second shot at love.
She met her former secondary school classmate Thomas Goh, a career warrant officer in the airforce, at a class reunion.
They started dating and soon fell in love. He began co-habiting with her from March 2003.
Mr Goh said that Madam Lim enjoyed going on holidays. They also frequented a Japanese restaurant at Upper Thomson Road, he said.
She later included Mr Goh's name as the joint account holder of her Australian time-deposit account.
Madam Neo said that Madam Lim had intended for the money to be for her retirement. She had talked about buying a studio flat with part of her savings.
Sadly, it was not to be.
Madam Lim, who had been suffering from diabetes since 1999, collapsed and died on 9 Jan last year.
She was alone in her flat at that time. Mr Goh discovered her body when he returned from work that day.
Mr Lim said: 'When she died, our regret is that she never got to enjoy life fully, and the fruits of her labour.'
Madam Neo added, her eyes welling up: 'We went through life's ups and downs together. We miss her a lot.'
FACE OF SIA WAS KAMPUNG GIRL
By Karen Wong
August 11, 2008
SHE struggled with a tumultuous marriage, then a divorce.
Happier times: Madam Lim with her sporty Toyota in late 1970s or early 1980s; --
Later on in life, she got a second chance at love, before she died abruptly.
She was just 51.
Madam Lim Bee Bee's life story resembled a soap opera.
From her humble kampung girl beginnings, she went on to become the face of Singapore Girl, then the boss of a hair salon.
Through sweat and toil, she became a successful businesswoman and a savvy investor.
When she died, Madam Lim left behind a business, estimated to be worth about $1 million, and some A$243,000 ($344,000) in a time-deposit account.
The money in the account became the subject of a legal dispute between her nephew, Mr Kelvin Lim Chen Yeow, and boyfriend, Mr Thomas Goh Chin Peng, 51.
It made newspaper headlines earlier this week.
So, who was Madam Lim Bee Bee?
Flipping through the yellowed pages of her photo album, which is still kept at the salon's reception cabinet even though she had died over 11/2 years back, you get a glimpse of the kind of life she led.
YOUNGEST IN FAMILY
Her sister-in-law, Madam Molly Neo, 56, the widow of her brother, told The New Paper on Sunday that Madam Lim grew up in a kampung in Hougang.
Born in 1955, Madam Lim has two brothers and a sister and is the youngest in her family. When she was a teenager, her mother died.
Madam Neo said: 'When I first knew her, she was still wearing pigtails.'
Madam Lim later lived in a three-room Circuit Road flat with her father and her brother Wee Kim's family.
The son of that brother and Madam Neo, Mr Kelvin Lim, now 34, later became Madam Lim's godson.
When Madam Lim was 18 years old, she joined the then fledgling Singapore Airlines as an air stewardess. In her album, there was a photo of her wearing SIA's trademark blue kebaya and a Mona Lisa smile.
She was the poster girl for SIA in the early '70s and her face was familiar to many.
Famous: The late Madam Lim Bee Bee was the face of SIA in the 1970s. Her cardboard cut-out, which she kept in her flat, was displayed in most shopping centres. Her nephew and godson, Kelvin Lim, looking at album photos. picture: Choo Chwee Hua
In 1976, she married Mr Michael Cheong, an air steward. He was the love of her life. (See other report on page8)
While she spent a lot of time flying, Madam Lim's head was not in the clouds - she was planning her future.
Realising that the 'shelf life' of her stewardess career would be short, she saved up for another that would last.
A couple of years later, she left SIA and went to London, where she attended hairdressing master classes.
When she returned to Singapore, she used her savings and money borrowed from an aunt and close friends to start her own hair salon called Matchpoint, located at a shophouse off Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1.
When she was not working, Madam Lim enjoyed spending time with her man. There are photos of her and her husband taken in late 1970s or early 1980s, showing them in happier times.
They stood next to a Porsche, her long hair is flying in the wind, her eyes are gazing in a distance, and her svelte body was wrapped in a tight black T-shirt and leggings.
In another photo, she was wearing sunglasses, posing next to a red Japanese sports car.
Madam Lim's brother, Wee Kim, died suddenly at just 29, leaving behind Madam Neo and their 7-year-old son.
'She was very sad when her brother died suddenly,' Madam Neo recalled. 'So she treated our son as if he was hers. Many of our customers used to think that Kelvin was her child.'
Madam Lim when she was in Japan with boyfriend Thomas Goh, a few years back; another one of her photos.
BUBBLY HAIRSTYLIST
Matchpoint was run like a family business.
There are shots of Madam Lim, perhaps in her early 30s, as a hairstylist in action, her face all lit up in the middle of a conversation, even as she worked on the customer's hair.
She was vivacious and bubbly.
One of her long-time customers, who wanted to be known only as Madam Tan, said: 'Sometimes, she gave us free treatments or highlights.'
Madam Neo helped out at the salon and also cooked for the family and the shop's employees. For that, she got a gratuity of about $250 a month, which was later increased to $450 a month.
Madam Neo's son, Mr Lim, spent much of his childhood at the shop. And Madam Lim, who did not want children of her own, indulged him.
She would buy him gifts when she travelled abroad and, in 2005, even sponsored his hairdressing course in Shanghai's Vidal Sassoon Academy, he said.
Mr Lim said: 'She was my mentor. She was a very strong woman.'
LIKES JAPANESE FOOD
Madam Lim was always well-put-together. She liked nice clothes, Madam Neo said, though they did not necessarily have to be branded.
While Madam Lim liked the homecooked chilli crabs that Madam Neo made, Madam Lim also had a taste for fine food.
She liked Japanese cuisine, Mr Lim said, and one of her favourite restaurants was Shima at Goodwood Park Hotel.
She also enjoyed going for high tea, and liked durian puffs.
But she also looked after her health. She went brisk-walking, attended taiji classes, and took health supplements.
With her savings, she bought an apartment in Sydney in 1994, which she then rented out.
She used the rental income to support her elder sister's two children's education in Australia.
In late 2003, Madam Lim sold the flat for a profit and gave A$50,000 to her elder sister and put the rest in an Australian-dollar account to earn a higher interest.
FAILED MARRIAGE
But while the salon business did well, Madam Lim's marriage did not.
She had a stormy relationship with Mr Cheong and they divorced in 1987.
Mr Lim said that even after their divorce, they were still good friends. They would live together for short periods and often had meals together.
In 1999, Madam Lim changed her will to give everything she owned to Mr Lim, whom she also appointed as sole executor and trustee of her estate.
She had previously willed everything to Mr Cheong.
In late 2002, Madam Lim had a second shot at love.
She met her former secondary school classmate Thomas Goh, a career warrant officer in the airforce, at a class reunion.
They started dating and soon fell in love. He began co-habiting with her from March 2003.
Mr Goh said that Madam Lim enjoyed going on holidays. They also frequented a Japanese restaurant at Upper Thomson Road, he said.
She later included Mr Goh's name as the joint account holder of her Australian time-deposit account.
Madam Neo said that Madam Lim had intended for the money to be for her retirement. She had talked about buying a studio flat with part of her savings.
Sadly, it was not to be.
Madam Lim, who had been suffering from diabetes since 1999, collapsed and died on 9 Jan last year.
She was alone in her flat at that time. Mr Goh discovered her body when he returned from work that day.
Mr Lim said: 'When she died, our regret is that she never got to enjoy life fully, and the fruits of her labour.'
Madam Neo added, her eyes welling up: 'We went through life's ups and downs together. We miss her a lot.'
