Woman, 48, dies of heart attack while asleep in Hougang flat 

Woman, 48, dies of heart attack while asleep in Hougang flat 
PHOTO: Lianhe Wanbao

Last week, a woman took an afternoon nap in the living room and never woke up again.

When her husband tried to rouse her about 10 hours later, the 48-year-old's body had already turned stiff and cold.

He immediately alerted their son and called for an ambulance. Paramedics soon arrived at their rental flat in Hougang and pronounced the woman dead.

The bereaved family later learnt that she had suffered a heart attack.

Her sudden death was a blow to her son who said: "I cannot accept it. She was doing fine, how could she have died?"

Speaking to Lianhe Wanbao, the woman's husband said she was diagnosed with schizophrenia more than a decade ago.

She missed an appointment at the Institute of Mental Health on Aug 27, and stayed home because she was feeling unwell.

Little did he expect that she would be gone forever the next day.

A struggling family

The family of three lived in a two-room rental flat and were jobless, a volunteer helping with the funeral arrangements told the Chinese evening daily.

"It was a heartbreaking sight… Hardly any relatives or friends turned up at the three-day wake," they said.

The woman's husband, who used to work as a cleaner, shared that he lost his job during the circuit breaker.

He described his wife as a loving person who was worried about their future, adding that she had sought help for her family who was living in dire straits. They had been getting by with some financial aid from the government.

However, the man hopes to be self-sufficient, saying: "I hope that I'll be able to get a job in a warehouse or work as a delivery man so that I can support our son."

The couple's only child suffers from anxiety due to longtime bullying in school because of his mother's unusual appearance, according to the paper. He is unable to work due to his condition and is currently receiving treatment.

"I used to avoid going out with my mother in public because people would stare. If I could reverse time, I'd hold my head up high and bring her out," the grieving son told Wanbao.

After learning of the family's plight, the funeral parlour absorbed expenses of services. Other people also extended a helping hand to both father and son.

lamminlee@asiaone.com

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