'Please be united': Ang Mo Kio dad, 47, leaves heartbreaking final WhatsApp message for his 7 children

"If anything happen(s) I want you all to promise me something okay… Please be united among you all must not leave anyone behind, must help out each other love each other and support each other, okay…"

This was part of a WhatsApp message that a father sent to four of his seven children in the early hours of Saturday Dec 14.

He died just two days after the foreboding message.

In his message, the man penned his last wishes — for his children to stay together, and for them to take care of their mother, whom he believed had suffered by marrying him — as well as his regrets for failing to provide a stable life for the entire family.

On Dec 14, the 47-year-old experienced two instances of sudden and extreme pain in his heart as well as numbness in one half of his head, prompting him to write what he thought might be his last message.

"Seems like wanna die le now better le," he wrote. "Really can't move… Just in case so I write first…"

Despite promising one of his daughters that he would seek treatment, he instead headed to work as usual. His heart pains returned on Dec 16, and though he was rushed to the hospital, he died that same day.

As an electronic equipment salesperson, he supported his family of nine with a monthly base pay of $1,200.

Now, due to his passing and his wife's weak body, his two oldest children, daughters aged 21 and 19, would have to take up the mantle of supporting the rest of the family. This includes their younger siblings aged between 18 and four.

In an interview with Lianhe Wanbao, the eldest child shared that their father wanted to provide a bigger space for the large family to live in. The family currently lives in a two-room rental flat in Ang Mo Kio. 

Their large family is due to her parents' wishes to have a boy. She said the fourth child had been a boy, but he died five days later due to jaundice. After three more girls, their mother finally bore a son.

Along with her second sister, she hopes to be able to fulfil one of their father's lifelong wish of getting a three-room flat. Though an uphill task, the eldest swears that they would definitely achieve it.

At present, she juggles between studies at Republic Polytechnic and her job, while her second sister works full-time, having left school before even completing Secondary 2. 

"My elder sister and I have agreed, no matter how hard, we will still support our younger siblings' education," the latter told reporters. "My father's wish was to have us study well in order to break out of this poverty cycle."

However, with the school year starting in another two weeks, the two sisters now worry about their younger siblings' school books and uniforms.

rainercheung@asiaone.com