PUBLISHED ONAugust 11, 2024 5:30 AMByCandice CaiA 69-year-old man's final wish is to reunite with his two estranged daughters whom he has not seen in more than 20 years and seek their forgiveness.
Retired businessman Chen Tuguang (transliteration), is suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer, Shin Min Daily News reported.
In an interview with the Chinese evening daily, he shared that his wife had died of liver cancer in 1993, leaving behind his daughters aged 11 and eight.
Deciding to "leave this sad place", Chen packed his bags for Shanghai, China where he worked for several years.
He got married to a Chinese woman there and later brought her to Singapore.
However, his daughters did not get along with their step-mother and they often quarrelled about money, said Chen.
"One day in 2003, my elder daughter took her sister and left. I never saw them again."
He stated that he'd tried to search for them but was unsuccessful.
"Now that I'm seriously ill, I only hope they can let go of the past and forgive me," said Chen.
"I hope to see them one last time before I go, that's my only wish," he added, sharing that his daughters would now be aged 42 and 39.
His friend, Chen Meiru, 58, who's helping him in the search, told Shin Min that Chen is suffering from end-stage pancreatic cancer and that the cancer cells had spread.
He was given the diagnosis in April, after Chen found blood in his stool.
"Doctors had said it was incurable, but he had a strong will to live and went through chemotherapy but it was unsuccessful," said Meiru.
To aid his friend in fulfilling his final wish, Meiru also appealed to funeral director Roland Tay to help find Chen's daughters.
"He doesn't have that many days left and time is of the essence," said Meiru.
According to Shin Min Daily News who visited Chen at his home, the latter looked thin and frail, and needed someone to assist him when walking.
His discomfort was also plain to see as he laid his head down during the interview, his voice soft and weak, Shin Min reported.
Chen managed to pull out old family photos from 30 years ago, which showed him hugging his daughters.
Said Meiru: "He cries every day as he's very worried that he won't be able to see his daughters."
Despite his poor health, Chen penned down his remorse in a 200-word letter written on Aug 5, which detailed his regrets, Shin Min reported.
He expressed hope for his ashes to be placed alongside those of his ancestors, mother and wife so it'll be convenient for his daughters to pay their respects.
