She was his mother's nurse in Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and he pursued her.

It took Singaporean Peter Ng about a year before Filipino nurse Ruth Sigue accepted his love.

His mother spoke Hokkien, she spoke English, but each time the then-cabby took her home for dinner, Madam Sigue tried her best to hold a conversation with the older woman, using short phrases and hand gestures.

Madam Sigue's own family was against the relationship - he was 20 years older and previously married, with two children, now in their 30s.

But in 2000, they got married.

Though they did not hold a banquet in Singapore, they did hold a grand church wedding in her hometown in Cebu in the Philippines.

Mr Ng also flew his mother, Madam Xie, now 79, to the Philippines for the wedding.

His sister-in-law, Madam Liu Xiumei, 46, told The Sunday Times: 'We saw the wedding pictures, it was very grand. They even tailored cream-coloured dresses and suits for the flower girls and page boys.'

Friends and family said that despite the age gap, the couple appeared 'very loving'.

'They've never had a fight, both were always smiling and very happy,' added Madam Liu, a furniture shop owner.

But last Monday, the Ngs were shocked when they learnt that Mr Ng, 58, had stabbed his 38-year-old wife in their apartment in Somerville, New Jersey, before he drowned himself in the Hudson River in Hoboken.

The tragedy happened on June9.

The couple had moved to the United States in 2005 when Madam Sigue found work at a hospital in New Jersey.

In Singapore, she was working in TTSH for about three years before she joined Mount Elizabeth as a staff nurse in general ward 6B from 2001 to 2005.

Ex-colleagues described her as 'jovial', 'hardworking' and 'reliable'. They added that she was a devout Catholic who never missed Mass.

'She always seemed very happy, talking about her children,' said Ms LuLu Caniedo, 38. 'But she hardly talked about her husband, she was quite private that way.'

But during her pregnancy, ex-colleagues said that Mr Ng often waited for her to finish her shift in the hospital, to drive her home in his cab.

Friends of the couple told The Sunday Times that Mr Ng had a furniture business before he became a cabby.

Madam Liu said he drove a cab after his business failed.

Security officer Steven Lee, 55, met Mr Ng when they went to apply for a batch of new Toyota Crown cabs released by SMRT in early 2005.

Mr Ng drove the morning shift and had two relief drivers who did the night shifts.

'He said he didn't drive a cab to make money, but more for convenience, to drive his wife and kids around,' said Mr Lee, who described Mr Ng as a rosy-cheeked man who was 'good-tempered' and 'always smiling'.

In Singapore, the couple lived in Madam Liu's four-room flat in Woodlands, together with their two young children.

Madam Liu's family was then living with Madam Xie in a Clementi shophouse.

In September 2005, Mr Ng told Mr Lee that his family was moving to New Jersey because his wife had found a nursing job which paid about US$5,000 monthly.

Ms Caroline Nai, nurse manager of ward 6B, said Madam Sigue had always wanted to settle in the US.

'It was her dream; she was so happy when her application came through,' said Ms Nai. 'They chose New Jersey because she had an uncle there.'

Due to paperwork complications, Madam Sigue had to leave her younger daughter, then barely a few months old, with her family in the Philippines. The couple then flew off with their six-year-old daughter to New Jersey.

There, they stayed with her uncle for the first few weeks before they rented a second-storey apartment in Somerville, a short walk from Somerset Medical Centre (SMC) where Madam Sigue worked.

A hospital spokesman told The Sunday Times that she did the 3pm to 11pm shift at the orthopaedic and neurology unit, caring for patients who underwent spine, hip and knee surgery.

The spokesman added that Madam Sigue was one of 55 nurses whom SMC recruited from the Philippines between 2001 and 2005.

But when Madam Sigue called her friends in Singapore, she told them that life wasn't that rosy.

Said Ms Caniedo: 'She said life was tough because she had to work long hours and extra shifts. She said she had to pay for the car and also the house.'

Madam Sigue's ex-colleagues also told The Sunday Times that Mr Ng didn't have a job in Somerville and spent his time minding the kids. Another daughter was born in the US last year.

But the Ngs said that Mr Ng did odd jobs and often drove tourists around in his 'seven-seater car' for a fare.

Madam Liu said Mr Ng called his mother regularly, with each call lasting up to 30 minutes.

But the last call Madam Xie had with her son on June3, about a week before the murder, didn't last long.

'Usually, he was very happy and would talk quite a bit. But that last call, he didn't seem in the mood to talk,' said Madam Liu.

They chatted briefly before he passed the phone to his daughters.

Last Wednesday, they received a white envelope in their postbox, addressed to Madam Xie.

In it were a cheque and four photos of Mr Ng and his family, taken in happier times.

Said Madam Liu: 'He must have sent it a day before the murder, the cheque was dated June 8. He cared for his mum even though it's not a very large sum.'

She declined to reveal the amount.

Madam Liu said her mother- in-law broke down when she saw the cheque and photos. The distraught Madam Xie, who declined to be interviewed, now spends most of her time at home instead of at the family's furniture shop.

Mr Ng was the second of five sons; three of his brothers have died from heart attacks.

Police investigations show that he had believed his wife was having an affair with a colleague, based on a taped message he left in his children's stroller.

On the morning that he drowned himself, Mr Ng had left his daughters, aged one and six, at Rowena's Delight and Cake House Restaurant, a Filipino eatery, after breakfast.

A waitress, who declined to be named, told The Sunday Times that in the pram were photographs, a tape recorder and 'thousands of dollars'.

She added that the Ngs were first-time customers and no one in the restaurant knew them.

Police later found Madam Sigue's body in the family's living room, with several stab wounds in her chest.

In Singapore, 10 of her former colleagues held a memorial service for her at a Catholic church last Friday. Tears flowed as they remembered their friend.

Madam Sigue's body was flown back to the Philippines yesterday. Her brother declined to speak to The Sunday Times but said that their mother is 'distraught' and 'very emotional'.

Now, the Sigue family is also looking to get custody of the two girls who are currently under the care of the State Division of Youths and Family Services in New Jersey.

'We haven't decided what to do on our side,' said Madam Liu. 'But it may be good for the three girls to be reunited in the Philippines.'

mavistoh@sph.com.sg