A rich Singaporean who asked for help to find his wife and son has been swamped by people claiming to be his relatives
'Relatives' pursue Singapore millionaire
5 hours ago
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — A Singaporean millionaire who appealed for help to find his long-lost wife and son in Malaysia has been swamped with responses from people claiming to be his relatives, a report has said.
Yak Eng Wai, 62, who made his fortune with an automotive business in Brunei, was splashed in Malaysia's dailies this week as he mounted a search for his first wife Ooi Suan Im and son Ah Teck.
The Star daily reported that he last saw his wife in 1972 when, pregnant with Ah Teck, she decided to leave their Singapore home to be with her family in Malaysia's northern Penang state, leaving behind their two-year-old son.
Yak visited them a few times but later lost touch. The older boy died in 1983 of an illness.
"I've already experienced the anguish of losing one child. Not knowing how the other one is doing is incredibly painful. I don't think my first wife even knows about the death of our elder son," he told the Star.
"Not a day goes by that I don't think of them and wonder how they are. It's been so many years but I will not be at peace until I find them," said Yak, who later remarried and has a 25-year-old daughter.
The Malaysian Chinese Association, which publicised Yak's appeal, said it had received numerous calls from people claiming to be the millionaire's family, but that none of them had checked out.
"We have to be careful that only his real wife and son are found and not some people who want to cash in on this," the MCA public services and complaints bureau chief in Selangor state, Tung Kong Ming, told the daily.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
'Relatives' pursue Singapore millionaire
5 hours ago
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — A Singaporean millionaire who appealed for help to find his long-lost wife and son in Malaysia has been swamped with responses from people claiming to be his relatives, a report has said.
Yak Eng Wai, 62, who made his fortune with an automotive business in Brunei, was splashed in Malaysia's dailies this week as he mounted a search for his first wife Ooi Suan Im and son Ah Teck.
The Star daily reported that he last saw his wife in 1972 when, pregnant with Ah Teck, she decided to leave their Singapore home to be with her family in Malaysia's northern Penang state, leaving behind their two-year-old son.
Yak visited them a few times but later lost touch. The older boy died in 1983 of an illness.
"I've already experienced the anguish of losing one child. Not knowing how the other one is doing is incredibly painful. I don't think my first wife even knows about the death of our elder son," he told the Star.
"Not a day goes by that I don't think of them and wonder how they are. It's been so many years but I will not be at peace until I find them," said Yak, who later remarried and has a 25-year-old daughter.
The Malaysian Chinese Association, which publicised Yak's appeal, said it had received numerous calls from people claiming to be the millionaire's family, but that none of them had checked out.
"We have to be careful that only his real wife and son are found and not some people who want to cash in on this," the MCA public services and complaints bureau chief in Selangor state, Tung Kong Ming, told the daily.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
