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If only I had answered her phone call
Friend misses call from woman less than hour before body was found
By Arul John
March 06, 2009
DEAD FROM FALL: The authorities at the spot where MadamKankaew's body was found - on the parapet between the second and third storeys of Block 658A, Jurong West Street 65. PICTURES: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
SHE came from Chiang Mai about 10years ago to build a better life in Singapore.
The Thai teenager later met and married a Singaporean. She took up permanent residency and had two children.
Three years ago, she brought over her youngest sister, whom she doted on, to study here.
But Madam Kankaew Phachara's life soon took a messy turn. She became estranged from her husband and they were said to be going through a divorce.
She started seeing another man about two years ago, but she recently began to suspect that he was cheating on her.
Early on Tuesday morning, Madam Kankaew, 27, was found dead at a HDB block in Jurong West, having apparently fallen from the 9th storey.
The police also found a 22-year-old Singaporean man with a dislocated shoulder on the 9th storey.
The police declined to reveal the man's identity, but it is understood that Madam Kankaew's boyfriend stays with his parents at a unit in that block.
Madam Kankaew's last hours are shrouded in mystery. What is known is that less than four hours before her death, she was heading to a disco pub in town, said her close friend, Ms Sharon Wong.
She said that Madam Kankaew's sister, 22, who's studying at a private school here, SMSed her at about 2am on Tuesday to find out where she was.
Madam Kankaew replied that she was in a taxi heading to the pub, the workplace of the woman she suspected her boyfriend of seeing.
Ms Wong, 32, has known Madam Kankaew for six months after they met while working in the service industry in the Orchard Road area.
She said Madam Kankaew was married and had a son, 7, and a daughter, 4.
Ms Wong said she and her husband, who's in his 30s, were going through divorce proceedings and Madam Kankaew had known her boyfriend for about two years.
Madam Kankaew's husband and sister were at the mortuary yesterday, but they declined to be interviewed.
Problems with boyfriend
GRIEVING SIS: Madam Kankaew's 22-year-old sister at the mortuary yesterday.
Ms Wong said Madam Kankaew's relationship with her boyfriend had problems, though he was good and caring.
He even wanted to have a baby, but Madam Kankaew had no plans of marrying him.
They had broken up previously but were trying to reconcile, Ms Wong said.
'Lately, she suspected that he was cheating on her. He denied it but she did not believe him,' she added.
'She suspected the third party was a Thai woman who works at a pub in Shenton Way which they frequented. I think she went to the club early Tuesday morning to check on her boyfriend.'
Then, at 5.50am, the police were informed about a body at Block 658A Jurong West Street 65.
They found Madam Kankaew's body on the parapet between the second and third storeys of the block. She had injuries consistent with those sustained in a high fall.
ESTRANGED HUBBY? The man said to be Madam Kankaew's husband.
The injured man was taken to National University Hospital for treatment and discharged that afternoon. He was later questioned by police.
The case has been classified as unnatural death and investigations are ongoing.
Shin Min Daily News had reported that the man had fallen with Madam Kankaew and landed on top of her.
When asked, the police declined to confirm or deny this account.
Ms Wong, who nicknamed Madam Kankaew Ice, told The New Paper about her colleague's final hours.
She said Madam Kankaew called her handphone at 5.15am on Tuesday but she missed the call as she was asleep.
She said: 'About two minutes later, she SMSed me. The SMS said 'Dear sis, I love you. Please take care of my younger sister'.'
Worried, she called Madam Kankaew's handphone number more than 10 times, but there was no answer.
Ms Wong said through her tears: 'Her SMS did not seem like something she would normally say. Maybe if I had answered her first call, things might be different now.'
She then called Madam Kankaew's boyfriend, whom she described as 22 years old, about 1.6m tall, plump and bespectabled. He works as a salesman.
She said the couple used to live with Madam Kankaew's sister in a rental apartment in Balestier, but he moved back to his family's flat before the recent Chinese New Year.
Ms Wong said that when she asked him about Madam Kankaew, he told her about the fall.
'I asked if he was joking, and he said he had no time to joke with me. He added that he had called the police and an ambulance.'
Ms Wong then called Madam Kankaew's sister and told her the bad news.
That was when she learnt about the early morning SMS and her friend's trip to the pub.
She said the boyfriend has not been in contact with her or Madam Kankaew's sister since the tragedy.
When The New Paper visited Block 658A on Tuesday and yesterday, residents on several floors said they had not heard anything that morning as they were fast asleep.
When we visited a unit, believed to be that of the boyfriend's family, the elderly owner who gave his name as Mr Ong denied having a 22-year-old son.
He said he and his wife live there with the children of their 27-year-old son who lives in another block.
Ms Wong said she had no idea what Madam Kankaew was doing there on the morning of her death.
She described her friend as a calm and rational woman and a caring mother who wanted to provide the best for her sister, children and family in Thailand.
She shunned branded goods and fancy meals, preferring to cook her favourite Thai dishes, which she shared with Ms Wong.
Her thriftiness helped her send home $500-$600 a month, Ms Wong said.
'Ice doted on her youngest sister and applied for her to join her in Singapore from her hometown in Chiang Mai about three years ago,' she added.
'She would never, never leave her sister behind. That strong and determined personality is the reason I called her Ice.
'Why and how she died is still a mystery.'
Friend misses call from woman less than hour before body was found
By Arul John
March 06, 2009
DEAD FROM FALL: The authorities at the spot where MadamKankaew's body was found - on the parapet between the second and third storeys of Block 658A, Jurong West Street 65. PICTURES: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
SHE came from Chiang Mai about 10years ago to build a better life in Singapore.
The Thai teenager later met and married a Singaporean. She took up permanent residency and had two children.
Three years ago, she brought over her youngest sister, whom she doted on, to study here.
But Madam Kankaew Phachara's life soon took a messy turn. She became estranged from her husband and they were said to be going through a divorce.
She started seeing another man about two years ago, but she recently began to suspect that he was cheating on her.
Early on Tuesday morning, Madam Kankaew, 27, was found dead at a HDB block in Jurong West, having apparently fallen from the 9th storey.
The police also found a 22-year-old Singaporean man with a dislocated shoulder on the 9th storey.
The police declined to reveal the man's identity, but it is understood that Madam Kankaew's boyfriend stays with his parents at a unit in that block.
Madam Kankaew's last hours are shrouded in mystery. What is known is that less than four hours before her death, she was heading to a disco pub in town, said her close friend, Ms Sharon Wong.
She said that Madam Kankaew's sister, 22, who's studying at a private school here, SMSed her at about 2am on Tuesday to find out where she was.
Madam Kankaew replied that she was in a taxi heading to the pub, the workplace of the woman she suspected her boyfriend of seeing.
Ms Wong, 32, has known Madam Kankaew for six months after they met while working in the service industry in the Orchard Road area.
She said Madam Kankaew was married and had a son, 7, and a daughter, 4.
Ms Wong said she and her husband, who's in his 30s, were going through divorce proceedings and Madam Kankaew had known her boyfriend for about two years.
Madam Kankaew's husband and sister were at the mortuary yesterday, but they declined to be interviewed.
Problems with boyfriend
GRIEVING SIS: Madam Kankaew's 22-year-old sister at the mortuary yesterday.
Ms Wong said Madam Kankaew's relationship with her boyfriend had problems, though he was good and caring.
He even wanted to have a baby, but Madam Kankaew had no plans of marrying him.
They had broken up previously but were trying to reconcile, Ms Wong said.
'Lately, she suspected that he was cheating on her. He denied it but she did not believe him,' she added.
'She suspected the third party was a Thai woman who works at a pub in Shenton Way which they frequented. I think she went to the club early Tuesday morning to check on her boyfriend.'
Then, at 5.50am, the police were informed about a body at Block 658A Jurong West Street 65.
They found Madam Kankaew's body on the parapet between the second and third storeys of the block. She had injuries consistent with those sustained in a high fall.
ESTRANGED HUBBY? The man said to be Madam Kankaew's husband.
The injured man was taken to National University Hospital for treatment and discharged that afternoon. He was later questioned by police.
The case has been classified as unnatural death and investigations are ongoing.
Shin Min Daily News had reported that the man had fallen with Madam Kankaew and landed on top of her.
When asked, the police declined to confirm or deny this account.
Ms Wong, who nicknamed Madam Kankaew Ice, told The New Paper about her colleague's final hours.
She said Madam Kankaew called her handphone at 5.15am on Tuesday but she missed the call as she was asleep.
She said: 'About two minutes later, she SMSed me. The SMS said 'Dear sis, I love you. Please take care of my younger sister'.'
Worried, she called Madam Kankaew's handphone number more than 10 times, but there was no answer.
Ms Wong said through her tears: 'Her SMS did not seem like something she would normally say. Maybe if I had answered her first call, things might be different now.'
She then called Madam Kankaew's boyfriend, whom she described as 22 years old, about 1.6m tall, plump and bespectabled. He works as a salesman.
She said the couple used to live with Madam Kankaew's sister in a rental apartment in Balestier, but he moved back to his family's flat before the recent Chinese New Year.
Ms Wong said that when she asked him about Madam Kankaew, he told her about the fall.
'I asked if he was joking, and he said he had no time to joke with me. He added that he had called the police and an ambulance.'
Ms Wong then called Madam Kankaew's sister and told her the bad news.
That was when she learnt about the early morning SMS and her friend's trip to the pub.
She said the boyfriend has not been in contact with her or Madam Kankaew's sister since the tragedy.
When The New Paper visited Block 658A on Tuesday and yesterday, residents on several floors said they had not heard anything that morning as they were fast asleep.
When we visited a unit, believed to be that of the boyfriend's family, the elderly owner who gave his name as Mr Ong denied having a 22-year-old son.
He said he and his wife live there with the children of their 27-year-old son who lives in another block.
Ms Wong said she had no idea what Madam Kankaew was doing there on the morning of her death.
She described her friend as a calm and rational woman and a caring mother who wanted to provide the best for her sister, children and family in Thailand.
She shunned branded goods and fancy meals, preferring to cook her favourite Thai dishes, which she shared with Ms Wong.
Her thriftiness helped her send home $500-$600 a month, Ms Wong said.
'Ice doted on her youngest sister and applied for her to join her in Singapore from her hometown in Chiang Mai about three years ago,' she added.
'She would never, never leave her sister behind. That strong and determined personality is the reason I called her Ice.
'Why and how she died is still a mystery.'
