He was a hardworking man who wanted to give his best for his customers at his drycleaning store.

But Tan Ying Rong's dedication to his job cost him his life as he died from overwork earlier last week.

The 48-year-old reportedly worked for over 12 hours a day, said Lianhe Wanbao.

His son, a 19-year-old polytechnic student, told the Chinese daily: "He would work every day from seven in the morning until seven at night. Because it was his own business, he did everything himself. He hardly rested and would continue working on weekends and public holidays."

Mr Tan's body was discovered by his daughter, who noticed that he had fainted in the living room.

Alarmed, the girl woke the entire family up and called for an ambulance. However he could not be resuscitated by the paramedics when they arrived.

Mr Tan died from heart exhaustion, possibly caused by overwork, said Lianhe Wanbao.

The deceased's wife had also been a victim of overwork, causing her spine to be injured.

Said the younger Tan: "My mother used to help my father in his business before, but she injured her spine because she worked too much and had to undergo an operation. Now that she's recovering from the operation, my father's workload doubled."

Lianhe Wanbao understands that at his last check up, doctors had told Mr Tan that there had been a problem with his heart and advised him to watch his diet and take up a more active lifestyle.

Said Mr Tan's son: "A few days ago, my father looked tired and kept hitting his chest. At that time I didn't think much of it, and I never expected that it would be the end of everything,"