Woman dies of heatstroke in winter

Woman dies of heatstroke in winter
PHOTO: Woman dies of heatstroke in winter

SINGAPORE - She died in June, but her obituary was put up only last Sunday - nearly five months later.

Her father, Mr Yeow See Lit, told Lianhe Wanbao that this was because the family had a hard time coming to terms with their grief.

Ms Suzanne Yeow (right), 37, had apparently died of heat stroke in Perth, Western Australia, on June 16, her father said.

Ms Yeow's Facebook profile showed that she had moved back to Perth, where she had previously spent a number of years studying at Taylors College.

It is unknown what she was doing there this time round.

The Chinese evening daily quoted her mother as saying that Ms Yeow was a keen student and had enrolled in a law programme at Standsfield College.

Standsfield is a private school here that offers a number of degree programmes, including one for the Bachelor of Law. The certificate is issued by the University of London in the United Kingdom.

The obituary in Sunday's Lianhe Zaobao stated that Ms Yeow was interested in blogging, travelling and exercising.

Ms Yeow's mother also told the newspaper that her daughter was interested in fashion and had taken up a designing course at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

Mother and daughter regularly wrote to each other.

In one letter written much earlier, her mother wrote in Chinese: "I'm very happy that you got the opportunity to study in Australia, treasure it."

Her mother has since made a collage of their correspondence, along with pictures of the family. Ms Yeow held a variety of jobs in sales and admin. She was also a pilates instructor.

She leaves behind an older brother, a niece and nephew.

A check with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology showed that on June 15 and 16 this year, the weather in Perth was between 8 and 20 deg C.

General practitioner Clarence Yeo said that while most here are familiar with heat stroke when the weather is extremely hot, there are cases where people can also suffer from heat stroke in colder climates.

"It is possible that she could have been dehydrated, but did not realise it since the weather there is not as humid," said Dr Yeo.

Body cannot handle it

He added that in temperate climates, people tend to set the temperature too high on their central heating systems before going to bed.

"Essentially, a heat stroke happens when your core temperature rises too much, and there isn't enough liquid to cool it down. Your body then goes into shock and organs shut down, which can lead to death."

Dr Yeo said that symptoms of heat stroke include dizziness, muscle cramps and even delirium.

lawsm@sph.com.sg


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