'He was two steps away from the coach': Tampines street vendor dies suddenly while on holiday in China, Singapore news

A man's vacation in China ended tragically: he died during the trip.

Xie Tianci (transliteration) joined a tour group of 87 people to Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, China.

He was the owner of Ah Hua's Kitchen Econ Bee Hoon and Nasi Lemak, a cafe at Block 826 Tampines Street 81. The 69-year-old ran the business for 35 years before handing it over to his children.

He was accompanied by his wife and eight other close friends. The group left on September 6 and was scheduled to return on September 17, Shin Min Daily News reported.

At around 6:30 p.m. on September 11, the tour group was preparing to leave after visiting Sailimu Lake when Xie suddenly fainted.

Xie's wife, Chen Zhuhua, told Shin Min Daily News: “I heard someone calling me and saying my husband had fallen down.”

“He was just two steps away from the tour bus. I immediately went over when I heard something was wrong and saw him holding his face. Blood was coming from his nose and mouth. When I tried to open his eyelids and give him acupuncture, he stopped responding.”

Although the group managed to alert emergency services, it reportedly took 30 minutes for an ambulance to reach Xie due to the remote location.

At around 9 p.m., Chen was informed by doctors of her husband's death.

When Xie's youngest son, Xie Jielong, heard the news, he booked a 3 a.m. flight to Nanjing.

The 29-year-old had to take another flight to Urumqi and travel another five hours by car to pick up his father's body.

He was reportedly advised to cremate his father's body in China and transport his remains to Singapore, but the younger Xie insisted on bringing his father's body home.

The administrative procedures were also delayed because Xie was born in Malaysia and had a permanent residence in Singapore.

Due to delays caused by the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xie's body did not arrive in Singapore until 9.30pm last Friday (20 September).

He will be cremated on Wednesday.

During the interview with Shin Min, Xie's son expressed his gratitude to local authorities and the embassies of Singapore and Malaysia for their help.

Chen talked more about her late husband and described him as a quiet person. The couple were married for 47 years and had a lot of love for each other.

“The last time we argued was about 20 years ago. He always gave in to me. We were grateful for each other and said we would travel the world until we were 80.”

Before the pandemic hit, Chen said they would go on vacation eight or nine times a year. They also planned to visit Genting and Norway next month and travel to Harbin in December.

They also had planned trips to Hainan next February and to Chongqing next March.

“Heaven is too cruel. Now that it is gone, I find it difficult to leave the house alone and life has lost its meaning.”

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