Missing S'pore grandma found after six days
By Carolyn Quek
Madam Voon, who lives in Bishan, went missing from a Genting Highlands casino last Friday. But she somehow managed to return to Singapore. -- ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN
AFTER almost six days of frantic searching, the family of a missing Singapore grandmother finally found her waiting for them in a Tanglin police station.
Madam Voon Choot Yin, 73, went missing a week ago while on a family holiday in Genting Highlands.
Somehow she made her way down the hill and more than 400km back to Singapore, where she disappeared again.
She was spotted at 3.30am yesterday by a resident of Kim Yam Heights in River Valley, Mr Tommy Lin, 34, who was on his way home.
He saw that she was about to lie down in the middle of Kim Yam Road, so he quickly helped her to the sidewalk, and asked the condominium security guards to take care of her.
He went home and called the police. 'I got worried for her...she wasn't wearing any shoes, and she looked very confused,' said Mr Lin, a golf instructor.
More than five hours later, Madam Voon's family was asked to pick her up from the Tanglin Police Division headquarters. Her granddaughter Susan Koh, 29, and son immediately rushed to bring her home to Bishan.
Madam Voon, who suffers from mild dementia and depression, could not tell them how she had managed to make the perilous journey without her passport and bus ticket, and with a handbag containing less than $20 in Singapore currency.
Neither her sandals, bag nor watch were on her when she was found.
Madam Voon arrived at the hill resort in Malaysia last Thursday with five relatives for a short trip, and she went missing from a casino the day after.
Ms Koh and her mother stayed behind in Genting Highlands in case she turned up, while the rest of the party returned to Singapore last Saturday.
The family said it received news on Tuesday from the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur that arrival records showed Madam Voon had entered Singapore on Sunday.
The Malaysian immigration authorities could not be reached yesterday, while Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority declined to comment on how she had managed to return to the country without a passport.
Though mystified, her family is just relieved to have her home. Ms Koh told The Straits Times that one of the first things Madam Voon did when she got home was to take a shower and then a long nap.
All she could say about her long journey home was that she knew she was lost but needed to return to Singapore. She remembers taking buses and walking a lot during the six days.
She also recalls sleeping on chairs and said she had food offered to her along the way.
Madam Voon appeared vexed when the topic of her lost bag and watch was brought up. She said she could not remember how she had lost them.
'It was gruelling because I did not know where I was going, and I was a little scared but all I knew was that I wanted to go home,' she told The Straits Times in Mandarin.
By Carolyn Quek
Madam Voon, who lives in Bishan, went missing from a Genting Highlands casino last Friday. But she somehow managed to return to Singapore. -- ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN
AFTER almost six days of frantic searching, the family of a missing Singapore grandmother finally found her waiting for them in a Tanglin police station.
Madam Voon Choot Yin, 73, went missing a week ago while on a family holiday in Genting Highlands.
Somehow she made her way down the hill and more than 400km back to Singapore, where she disappeared again.
She was spotted at 3.30am yesterday by a resident of Kim Yam Heights in River Valley, Mr Tommy Lin, 34, who was on his way home.
He saw that she was about to lie down in the middle of Kim Yam Road, so he quickly helped her to the sidewalk, and asked the condominium security guards to take care of her.
He went home and called the police. 'I got worried for her...she wasn't wearing any shoes, and she looked very confused,' said Mr Lin, a golf instructor.
More than five hours later, Madam Voon's family was asked to pick her up from the Tanglin Police Division headquarters. Her granddaughter Susan Koh, 29, and son immediately rushed to bring her home to Bishan.
Madam Voon, who suffers from mild dementia and depression, could not tell them how she had managed to make the perilous journey without her passport and bus ticket, and with a handbag containing less than $20 in Singapore currency.
Neither her sandals, bag nor watch were on her when she was found.
Madam Voon arrived at the hill resort in Malaysia last Thursday with five relatives for a short trip, and she went missing from a casino the day after.
Ms Koh and her mother stayed behind in Genting Highlands in case she turned up, while the rest of the party returned to Singapore last Saturday.
The family said it received news on Tuesday from the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur that arrival records showed Madam Voon had entered Singapore on Sunday.
The Malaysian immigration authorities could not be reached yesterday, while Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority declined to comment on how she had managed to return to the country without a passport.
Though mystified, her family is just relieved to have her home. Ms Koh told The Straits Times that one of the first things Madam Voon did when she got home was to take a shower and then a long nap.
All she could say about her long journey home was that she knew she was lost but needed to return to Singapore. She remembers taking buses and walking a lot during the six days.
She also recalls sleeping on chairs and said she had food offered to her along the way.
Madam Voon appeared vexed when the topic of her lost bag and watch was brought up. She said she could not remember how she had lost them.
'It was gruelling because I did not know where I was going, and I was a little scared but all I knew was that I wanted to go home,' she told The Straits Times in Mandarin.
