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A Singaporean dying of lung cancer fulfish his last wish– to play the jackpot at a casino (File photo).
Last week, a frail, wheelchair-bound Mr Tan Miah Teck imagined he was playing the jackpot machines while fiddling with buttons for his hospital bed.
He stopped pressing them when his family members told him that the buttons were for the bed.
Two days later, Mr Tan, who was suffering trom the final stages of lung cancer, found himself pressing the actual buttons of the jackpot machines at the casino. He won S$200 and, nine hours later, he died.
The visit to the casino to play the jackpot machine was the 72-year-old Singaporean’s dying wish, according to The New Paper.
And his four children went all out decided to fulfill it.
Seeking permission from his doctor, they spent about $200 to hire a private ambulance and a private nurse to accompany their father, a retired shipyard worker, to Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).
Last Thursday morning on Dec 2, Mr Tan – who had been to the RWS casino three times since it opened — made his fourth and final trip to the casino. Besides being wheelchair-bound, he had to be hooked to an oxygen tank for the outing.
Said his youngest daughter, Madam Eileen Tan, 40, “My father suffered a relapse three weeks ago and his condition worsened.”
“He went on for chemotherapy but his condition continued to deteriorate day by day.”
Doctors told the family that he had less than three months to live.
It was then that Madam Tan decided she wanted to fulfill whatever wishes her father might have.
She said in Mandarin, “We asked him if there were any places which he would like to go to.”
“He said, ‘there’s nowhere to go, except maybe to Sentosa to play jackpot’.”
And to Sentosa it was.
Accompanied by her mother and sister, Madam Tan said her father was very pleased on the day they took him to RWS. Two other siblings did not make it due to work obligations.
Switching between two jackpot machines, Mr Tan spent about an hour inside the casino and won $200.
Said Madam Tan, “He was very happy. He kept asking us whether he had won or lost money.”
Added Mr Tan’s second daughter, Ms Doreen Tan, 46, “His initial outlay was $50. And at one point, he won up to $300. But then he lost some and ended up with $200.”
“At least he won back the entrance levy that he had to pay for my mother and himself.”
But Mr Tan could not keep up with the game for long.
They left before an hour was up and had the waiting ambulance bring him back to the Singapore General Hospital when he got tired.
About nine hours later, he died.
Said Madam Tan, “I accompanied him at the hospital until about 7pm before going home to bathe. At about 9pm, the hospital staff called. By the time we rushed down to the hospital, it was too late. He had already left us.”
“I didn’t expect him to leave so soon after his wish was granted. I thought he could hang on a little longer.”
But she took consolation in the fact that the family managed to fulfill his last wish.
“At least, we managed to take him there to play the machines. We wanted to do what we could for him,” said Madam Tan.
She added that she was grateful to the RWS staff who facilitated her father’s final visit to the casino.
She said, “They had guards there who paved the way for his wheelchair to pass by. They also cleared a corner in the casino specially for him to play.”
Besides playing the jackpot machines, Mr Tan was also an avid getai fan with a passion for singing Hokkien and Chinese oldies. But his diagnosis with stage three lung cancer two years ago stopped him from delivering his favourite songs.
Last week, a frail, wheelchair-bound Mr Tan Miah Teck imagined he was playing the jackpot machines while fiddling with buttons for his hospital bed.
He stopped pressing them when his family members told him that the buttons were for the bed.
Two days later, Mr Tan, who was suffering trom the final stages of lung cancer, found himself pressing the actual buttons of the jackpot machines at the casino. He won S$200 and, nine hours later, he died.
The visit to the casino to play the jackpot machine was the 72-year-old Singaporean’s dying wish, according to The New Paper.
And his four children went all out decided to fulfill it.
Seeking permission from his doctor, they spent about $200 to hire a private ambulance and a private nurse to accompany their father, a retired shipyard worker, to Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).
Last Thursday morning on Dec 2, Mr Tan – who had been to the RWS casino three times since it opened — made his fourth and final trip to the casino. Besides being wheelchair-bound, he had to be hooked to an oxygen tank for the outing.
Said his youngest daughter, Madam Eileen Tan, 40, “My father suffered a relapse three weeks ago and his condition worsened.”
“He went on for chemotherapy but his condition continued to deteriorate day by day.”
Doctors told the family that he had less than three months to live.
It was then that Madam Tan decided she wanted to fulfill whatever wishes her father might have.
She said in Mandarin, “We asked him if there were any places which he would like to go to.”
“He said, ‘there’s nowhere to go, except maybe to Sentosa to play jackpot’.”
And to Sentosa it was.
Accompanied by her mother and sister, Madam Tan said her father was very pleased on the day they took him to RWS. Two other siblings did not make it due to work obligations.
Switching between two jackpot machines, Mr Tan spent about an hour inside the casino and won $200.
Said Madam Tan, “He was very happy. He kept asking us whether he had won or lost money.”
Added Mr Tan’s second daughter, Ms Doreen Tan, 46, “His initial outlay was $50. And at one point, he won up to $300. But then he lost some and ended up with $200.”
“At least he won back the entrance levy that he had to pay for my mother and himself.”
But Mr Tan could not keep up with the game for long.
They left before an hour was up and had the waiting ambulance bring him back to the Singapore General Hospital when he got tired.
About nine hours later, he died.
Said Madam Tan, “I accompanied him at the hospital until about 7pm before going home to bathe. At about 9pm, the hospital staff called. By the time we rushed down to the hospital, it was too late. He had already left us.”
“I didn’t expect him to leave so soon after his wish was granted. I thought he could hang on a little longer.”
But she took consolation in the fact that the family managed to fulfill his last wish.
“At least, we managed to take him there to play the machines. We wanted to do what we could for him,” said Madam Tan.
She added that she was grateful to the RWS staff who facilitated her father’s final visit to the casino.
She said, “They had guards there who paved the way for his wheelchair to pass by. They also cleared a corner in the casino specially for him to play.”
Besides playing the jackpot machines, Mr Tan was also an avid getai fan with a passion for singing Hokkien and Chinese oldies. But his diagnosis with stage three lung cancer two years ago stopped him from delivering his favourite songs.
