All the guys, including grandpa, his daughter, the poleece, the workers and all the volunteers who managed to find him after 6 days are indeed Heroes.
Missing 81-year-old man found on Bartley HDB rooftop after 6 days
Lau Sung Pong, who has dementia, was found frail and sunburned after going for days without food.
PHOTO: Amy Hoi
An elderly man who lost contact with family members for six days has been found on the roof of a newly-constructed flat in Bidadari.
Lau Sung Pong, 81, was reported missing on May 1 after he failed to return home.
In an interview with AsiaOne, 55-year-old Joyce said that her father, Lau, who has dementia but had been advised by doctors to maintain his daily routine, accidentally got off the bus two stops later than intended.
"He's generally strong and healthy, though his kidneys are not in the best condition due to his age," said Joyce, who asked not to be identified by her full name. She is her father's primary caregiver.
After spending two hours searching for Lau on foot and car without success, Joyce contacted the police.
Together with several family members, the police combed through the Bidadari and Woodleigh area to find the elderly man.
Member of Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC Denise Phua also appealed for help in a Facebook post on Wednesday (May 7), which garnered over 1,400 reactions.
"We received several tips of his possible sightings, but we still could not find him throughout the next six days," said Amy Hoi, 43, who is Lau's niece.
She told AsiaOne that on Wednesday, Lau was found on the rooftop of Block 227A Bartley Walk, less than 300 metres where he was last seen.
Joyce suggested that her father may have wandered there due to his dementia, noting that he used to work in water tank maintenance while also running a metal workshop business.
The Build-To-Order flat is reportedly still awaiting its Temporary Occupation Permit.
Block 227A Bartley Walk.
Several water tank contractors found the frail, slightly sunburned man and immediately called for an ambulance.
By that time, Lau had gone several days without food, to which Hoi remarked that her uncle's survival was a "miracle".
"He is undergoing treatment as his kidney suffered trauma from the dehydration," she said. "Other than that, he is very well."
Joyce said that her father is recuperating in hospital, adding that her family appreciates all the well wishes and tip offs from good Samaritans.
"Because of them sharing the news of Lau missing, we could reach out to such a wide network of people who really helped to look for him over these few days," added Hoi. "Words can never be enough to express how deeply grateful we are to all of them."
The Singapore Civil Defence Force told AsiaOne that they receive a call for assistance at Block 277A Bartley Walk on Wednesday at around 6pm.
"SCDF conveyed a person to Tan Tock Seng Hospital," they added.
One of the very few Presidents who cared for the people more than himself.
He spent 13 years in prison and many years in solitary confinement.
Of course Chia Thye Poh was held underground also in solitary confinement for 23 years by the evil LKY who is now toiling in shit in the deepest depths of hell as the slave of the Devil himself.
‘World’s poorest president’ José ‘Pepe’ Mujica dies aged 89
Uruguay’s former president José “Pepe” Mujica, a guerrilla fighter and cult hero for Left-wingers worldwide, has died at the age of 89.
Mr Mujica had been put into palliative care earlier in May after a year-long battle with cancer of the oesophagus, which had spread to his liver.
“With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,”Yamandú Orsi, Uruguay’s country’s current president, said on X.
Former Bolivian president Evo Morales hailed his “experience and wisdom,” while Brazil’s government bid farewell to “one of the most important humanists of our time.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Mujica had lived for “a better world,” while Guatemala’s Bernardo Arevalo held him up as “an example of humility and greatness.”
Mr Mujica, who met then US president Barack Obama in 2014, was a Leftist icon - Jonathan Ernst
Mr Mujica’s journey from the Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group Tupamaros to mainstream politics, where his popularity stemmed from his trademark laconic philosophising, is unique in Latin American politics.
Coinciding with the years of Uruguay’s 1972-1985 dictatorship, Mr Mujica spent 13 years in prison, with more than half of this time confined in a tiny cell which he was allowed to leave only a couple of times a month to exercise.
In that dark space without books or companionship, Mr Mujica said that he learnt to think.
“To keep myself sane, I began to remember things I’d read, things I’d thought when I was young. Later, I dedicated myself to changing the world, and I didn’t read anything. I couldn’t change the world, but what I’d read when I was young helped me,” he told the Spanish newspaper El País in an interview after his release.
Supporters painted murals of Mr Mujica in Montevideo after his death was announced - David Fernandez/AFP via Getty
After entering politics as a senator in 2000, he would later become minister for livestock under Tabaré Vázquez, Uruguay’s first Left-wing president.
In November 2009 he won 53 per cent of the vote and was proclaimed president. During his single five-year term, as mandated by Uruguay’s constitution, Mr Mujica legalised abortion, same-sex marriage and the use of marijuana.
He won fame as the “world’s poorest president” for giving away much of his salary to charity, during his 2010-2015 presidency.
He was known to attend official events in sandals and continued living on his small farm on the outskirts of Montevideo, where his prized possession was a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle.
He preferred to live simply, driving his old VW and spending time on his farm - Natacha Pisarenko
Even after he retired from politics in 2020, his chacra, or smallholding, continued to be a place of pilgrimage for Left-wing politicians, journalists and other admirers.
Mr Mujica was a fierce critic of consumer culture and the environmental damage it has caused the planet.
“We have built self-exploiting societies. You have time to work but not to live,” he once said.
He was diagnosed with cancer in May 2024.
Mr Mujica is survived by his wife, Lucia Topolansky, whom he met when they were both guerrilla fighters. The couple did not have children.
He asked before his death that he be buried on his farm, next to his dog.
Just two weeks before her death, O'Connor tied the knot with her longtime boyfriend Adriano Cardinali.
“09.05.2025. The day I married the love of my life. ,” O’Connor wrote alongside an image of her husband’s hand over her own.
Her photo showed the couple both wearing their wedding rings as she held a bouquet of white roses and baby’s breath. It was the last post she shared, uploaded on May 12.
Before her wedding announcement, O’Connor last shared an Instagram photo of herself with Cardinali for his birthday in February, where she referred to him as “my Italian prince.”
“I never in my life thought I would find someone like you. Someone with such a pure heart and soul, someone who makes me feel loved every day, someone who would do absolutely anything for me… someone as weird as me,” she wrote.
Her words captioned a single photo of the couple sitting in a restaurant booth together, both smiling at the camera as they posed with drinks in front of them.
“You are not just my boyfriend but my truest and closest friend,” O’Connor continued.
She also mentioned that the longtime loves “have been through so much together, things that no couple should go through but we always get through because nothing can ever break us.”
“I couldn’t imagine life without you and I adore you from the deepest parts of my heart,” she wrote, later concluding, “you are the best thing that ever happened to me and being your girlfriend is the greatest title I could ever wish to have.”
When O’Connor revealed her cancer diagnosis in January, she made a post calling out “the absolute incompetent RATS that have allowed this to happen.”
“For 17 weeks since the start of October, I’ve been in constant pain,” she wrote on Jan. 31.
Georgia Cardinali/Instagram
Georgia O’Connor
Her post was a single image of her sitting in a hospital bed, hooked to multiple machines as she smiled and gave a “thumbs up” sign.
The pro athlete said she knew “something was seriously wrong” and felt that she had cancer because “I have colitis and PSC [primary sclerosing cholangitis — a chronic liver disease], two diseases that dramatically increase the chances of getting it.”
“I KNOW how high my risk is and they do too. They always did. But not one doctor f------ listened to me. Not one doctor took me seriously,” O’Connor wrote.
She said she “begged” doctors to run tests, but they refused. “One even told me that it’s ‘all in my head.’ And now? Now the cancer has spread,” O’Connor wrote.
O'Connor was undefeated in her boxing matches since turning pro in 2021, and won several high-ranking titles, including a bronze medal at the 2018 Youth World Championships as an amateur fighter.
“Georgia was loved, respected and admired,” Boxxer said in their statement after her death.
This is true and pure love
May God grant them their wish
Unable to bear children, she proposed annulment of marriage so he could start a family. He chose love.
For many couples, getting married means settling down and starting a family.
That's no different for Eleanore Lim and her husband Timothy York James.
That is, until the pair's plans of growing their family were suddenly disrupted just two months after tying the knot in 2021 — when Eleanore was diagnosed with not one, but two life-altering conditions: stage one endometrial cancer and stage two ovarian cancer — which required her to have a full hysterectomy.
"I was devastated because we both love kids. Right after our wedding, due to our age, we actually wanted to start [trying to conceive]. But when the diagnosis came, it was devastating for both of us. I broke down," the social worker shared with AsiaOne.
According to the 36-year-old, her doctors provided an alternative path that could allow the couple to have children of their own: boosting her estrogen, freezing her eggs and possibly going into in-vitro fertilisation (or IVF) after her chemotherapy — but it would come at the expense of the results of her prognosis.
"The chances of the cancer being escalated to stage four, because it was just at stage two at that point of time, would be very high. And I think the duration of me being able to live on is about a year," Eleanore shared.
But despite the risks, she was open to the idea.
She suggested to Timothy: "Since you want kids, why not we try that?"
He rejected the idea — with both of them agreeing that Eleanore's life was more important than having kids.
But that wasn't the only suggestion that the 43-year-old, who is an operations staff member at a halfway house, said no to.
Not wanting to "rob him of his rights of being a father", Eleanore made "a very painful decision" of proposing an annulment to Timothy — so that he could possibly find someone else that he could have children with.
According to the 36-year-old, her doctors provided an alternative path that could allow the couple to have children of their own: boosting her estrogen, freezing her eggs and possibly going into in-vitro fertilisation (or IVF) after her chemotherapy — but it would come at the expense of the results of her prognosis.
"The chances of the cancer being escalated to stage four, because it was just at stage two at that point of time, would be very high. And I think the duration of me being able to live on is about a year," Eleanore shared.
And it was this unfaltering conviction and commitment to their love that helped Eleanore reaffirm their bond in such trying times.
She expressed: "I felt very blessed and very relieved that he stood firm. I married the right man."
To show his support for Eleanore, Timothy even shaved his head before her chemotherapy began, even choosing to remain bald throughout her chemotherapy journey.
Moving forward
With the plans of having children now behind them, Eleanore and Timothy are choosing to focus on the common dreams and goals they share — such as the freedom of travelling as and when they want, being the loving owners to their pets and continuing to create memories.
"We have a lot of common dreams, not only children. Children is one part of it, but I think the good thing is, rather than focusing on the dreams that you can't achieve, you focus on other dreams that you can achieve," Eleanore stated.
"We both love pets, so we have two cats. I think it's okay if you can't have children, we can create memories in other ways," she added.
The couple have considered other avenues such as adoption but have decided to focus their attention on caring for their cats for now.
Real Families, Real Stories
Eleanore and Timothy's story is one of the many featured at a showcase called Real Families, Real Stories, which is part of the National Family Festival Carnival 2025 happening today (May 31) and tomorrow at Singapore Expo Hall 6.
The carnival marks the start of the wider month-long National Family Festival 2025, led by the Families for Life (FFL) Council, which offers an array of activities and events islandwide for families.
Some examples include the FunFam SportFest organised by Sport Singapore's Active Parents movement to encourage families to stay active together; and Gardens by the Bay's Children's Festival, an annual school holiday programme.
As a signature event of SG60, the festival celebrates the role of families in shaping Singapore's development over the past six decades and highlighting efforts to help build strong and thriving families through various interactive exhibitions, showcases and activities.
Eleanore shared that she was inspired by her best friend Vanessa (who also participated in another event organised by the FFL Council) to send in her story for the showcase.
"Deep in my heart, I want to see how our stories can impact other couples who either are newly married or married for many years, or have gone through a lot of challenges in their lives," she explained.
As for what she hopes that they can take away from their story, she stated: "No matter what challenges you face as a couple, go through together as a couple. Don't just leave anyone behind, because you came to a union.
"And I believe there's a reason why you decided to come to a union with each other. So it's important to pull through together and stay committed to each other."
For Timothy, he emphasises that being together with someone means showing up and trying every day.
"But marriage is a constant effort, really, every day. You gotta put in the work every day, and it's really no joke. After going through what we went through, I think it really breaks us and moulds us, you know, to become stronger as a couple together," he said.
With six children and three part-time jobs to juggle, Ms Lydia Susiyanti Sukarbi, the 36-year-old sole breadwinner of her household, may not have much.
But what she has – compassion, generosity and grit – she gives freely.
----- which none of the billionaires have --- Always what's in it for me.
Three times a week before the crack of dawn, she dishes out free breakfast to underprivileged children who live in her Ang Mo Kio neighbourhood.
Ms Lydia, a former school canteen stall vendor, started her Breakfast Buddy initiative in February as she had seen first-hand how some students wentwithout recess so that their younger siblings had money to buy food to eat.
----- lol
that was me too poor then
“How can we, as neighbours, step up for these kids? I feel I should help to fill this gap,” said Ms Lydia, who lives with her family in a two-room Housing Board rental flat.
“Breakfast Buddy is more than giving them breakfast. It’s to let the children know there are resources for them, and I’m here to share my resources. If it’s within my capability, I will give.
“I’m like an auntie, mother, teacher to them. And they share many things with me.”
Ms Lydia juggles two jobs and also runs a home-based bridal business, while her husband stays home to look after their six children, aged between one and 15.
She earns about $3,000 a month on average.
Her modest means did not stop her from pursuing her “dream” of providing breakfast to children, although she was initially uncertain how long she could keep the initiative going.
She said: “I have just enough with three jobs and government subsidies. Though I’m concerned about money myself, I went ahead as I thought: Just do it.”
Her children are on the Education Ministry’s Financial Assistance Scheme, which helps lower-income families with basic schooling expenses.
In the first month, she forked out $300 to $400 out of her own pocket to buy breakfast items for the children. She also asked her friends and extended family members if they wanted to pitch in.
Through word of mouth, more donors came to donate in cash or kind, such as cereals. Most of the breakfast cost is now covered by donations, she said.
More than just breakfast
Breakfast starts at 6.30am at the void deck of Block 228A Ang Mo Kio Street 23, where the children gather at tables to eat.
Ms Lydia and her partner for the initiative, Ms Halinah Yatim, prepare a variety of cereals, bread with various types of spread such as peanut butter and Nutella, and biscuits. Drinks include hot Milo, milk and juice.
About 15 children show up each time, she said.
They include Aina Adrianna Mohammad Fareez, 11, and her seven-year-old brother, who come three times a week. Their mother, a single mum, works in childcare.
Aina, the second eldest of five children, said of the free breakfast: “It fills my stomach. We don’t eat much at home, as my mum needs to rush to work (in the morning).
“And it has some of my favourite things such as Froot Loops (a type of cereal), Nutella and Milo.”
Ms Lydia Susiyanti Sukarbi (right) and Ms Halinah Yatim with the items they have prepared for breakfast. PHOTO: The Straits Times
Ms Halinah, a 52-year-old divorcee, helps Ms Lydia as often as she can with the breakfast initiative, despite her own mobility problems – she has knee and nerve issues.
“It makes me happy when I see them eating together and going to school together. They also share with us what they are facing,” said Ms Halinah. Using a mobility scooter, it takes her 20 minutes from her two-room rental flat in Ang Mo Kio to reach the breakfast venue.
“We ask them what they want (to eat) to make them feel they have the privilege of choosing. That they can choose also brightens their day.”
She speaks from experience, recalling not being able to afford the food her children – aged 10 to 22 – wanted to eat when they were younger.
Three of her four children are now working, easing her financial burden.
Ms Lydia Susiyanti started her Breakfast Buddy initiative in February as she saw first-hand how some students went without recess so that their younger siblings had money to buy food to eat. PHOTO: The Straits Times
When Breakfast Buddy first started, Ms Lydia and Ms Halinah served up dishes such as scrambled eggs and hot dog rolls, but were surprised to find that the children did not like such fare.
One child told Ms Lydia he always ate sausages at home and wanted something different.
So they asked the children what they really wanted. The answer: cereal, especially Froot Loops, and bread with Nutella.
One issue Ms Lydia faced was the lack of space, given the small size of her two-room flat, to store the food items.
So the Singapore Government Partnerships Office (SGPO), which was set up to strengthen the Government’s partnerships and engagements with Singaporeans, linked her up recently with the People’s Association (PA) to secure a storage space at the Teck Ghee Palm View Residents’ Network.
The SGPO learnt about her efforts through Skillseed, a social enterprise Ms Lydia works at.
Skillseed is currently helping Ms Lydia to apply for a community grant to fund the breakfast items, with the SGPO and PA facilitating the process.
“Everyone in the community can be a change maker. We are completely inspired by Lydia’s spirit of wanting to help others,” said an SGPO spokeswoman.
“Lydia’s Breakfast Buddy initiative is a heartwarming citizen-led, ground-up effort that brings the neighbourhood together, anchored in the spirit of gotong-royong (communal help),” she said.
Ms Lydia Susiyanti (in pink) and Ms Halinah Yatim setting up the breakfast spread for primary school students on May 28. PHOTO: The Straits Times
At Skillseed, Ms Lydia is a mentor guide, where she leads learning journeys in her neighbourhood and shares about her life, as well as the experiences and strengths of the rental flat community.
Ms Phua Huijia, founding director of Skillseed, said Ms Lydia is paid per trail as a community guide, and earns an hourly rate for mentoring new guides.
Ms Lydia also works on an ad hoc basis at social service agency Allkin Singapore, where she organises activities and programmes that bring people together.
Her giving nature started early, around the age of 10 or 11, when she would invite children she met while playing home for a meal.
The eldest of five, Ms Lydia recalled: “If they looked haggard or looked like they were not well taken care of, I would ask them if they want to eat. And my mum never said no when I asked if we could feed another mouth.”
She describes her mother, a retired hawker, as her inspiration for compassion and generosity.
Ms Lydia said of her growing-up years: “People say, ‘oh you don’t have enough, then you are poor’. But we don’t feel poor. We had just enough, probably less than normal, but that doesn’t make us less of a person. I feel that the word poor shouldn’t be used to identify or label people. All of us are under-resourced, with time, money and love.”
